A Trip To Russia Never Hurt Anyone, Right
by animeartist123
Summary: The Bladebreakers are on a trip to Russia to battle an opposing group that has picked them out from many others and is challenging them. How exactly does Kai feel when one of the opposing teams players sets their sights on sweet little innocent Maxie?
1. Chapter 1

_Okay everyone, this is just a story about Max and Kai, but it all depends on how many reviews I get and how good the story is for me to continue it. So please, R&R! _

_Summary: The Bladebreakers are on a trip to Russia to battle an opposing group that has picked them out from many others and is challenging them. How exactly does Kai feel when one of the opposing teams players sets their sights on sweet little innocent Maxie?_

The bus shook as they hit another bump in the road. The Bladebreakers relaxed inside the bus that was taking them to their destination. Sitting in the first two rows were none other than Hilary and Tyson. They bantered back and forth, annoying Kenny as he tried to get some work done. In the second to last row were Max and Rei. Max had a cheery smile on his face as he looked out the window, chuckling to himself as he thought of another funny joke. Max had been chuckling for a while now, completely lost to the real world around him at the moment.

Rei was beside him, his eyes closed as he was finally relaxed. He had attempted to get Hilary and Tyson to sit somewhere else so there wouldn't be another squabble between the two, but apparently no matter what happened it was like the two were glued to their seats. Every now and then Rei would look behind him to where the only calm member of his team was sitting, Kai. Rei, assuming that Kai was either asleep or trying to sleep, looked back at him, only to be surprised when he looked back and noticed Kai staring out of the window of the bus.

Kai watched the blurry figures race by through the foggy glass. This was the last place that he had wanted to be right now. Back in Russia where everything in his life seemed to go bad… He knew that everything from his past was now long gone from Russia, but he couldn't help but feel a strange feeling that had seemed to rest inside of the pit of his stomach. Something here wasn't right, and he had a feeling that whatever it was in his stomach that was making him feel this was trying to warn him of something. For the whole ride back to Russia Kai couldn't shake the feeling that the mysterious feeling inside of him had something to do with the team that they were to face…

_Okay, please Review, but only if you liked it or if you think I should continue on with this story. Thank you for taking the time to read this I really hope that you will continue to if I continue. I can be persuaded easily so just one review will do it. Anyway, sorry for making this chapter to short and for ending it right there, I wanted to leave a bit of a mysterious vibe to leave you thinking about what will happen next. This takes place a little after G- Revolution because I think everyone on the team looked so cute in that season! _


	2. Chapter 2

_Okay, so before I start up this fic again I would like to give a thanks to the people who reviewed my story and gave me inspiration to write this. _

_Nazrita and Oystercloud18…. Thank you for being one the first People to actually R&R my story. I would like to thank Dark Bia as well._

_(I would also like to say that I know I said that there were eight rooms for everyone, well let's just say that they have to share rooms now because something happened)_

_So, On with the Fic!_

_Max's P.O.V._

I watched as the snow covered everything around my team I. After the long bus ride there, we had finally reached our long awaited destination, an empty cabin with seven rooms. One for everyone on the team, including Hilary and even Daichi, who decided that riding in a bus with all of us was too boring, so he would find another way to get to Russia. I felt the cold winds rush by and challenge me as I hugged my green coat tighter to me. Around us was nothing but thick green trees, running for miles. To be more precise, the place would be was deserted if my team weren't here at this very moment.

I had an orange scarf around my neck with green gloves on. These things would've kept me warm in any other place, but not in Russia. To say the least, I wasn't exactly ready to face Russia's cold climate yet. I had one suitcase with me at the moment, and it was in my hand as I stood outside the cabin, just watching it really. I lifted my foot, getting ready to walk toward the cabin to go pick out which room would be mine. I turned my head to the left when I heard snow crunching beneath someone's weight.

"Hey, Maxie!" I froze and dropped my suitcase when something cold and wet connected with the back of my neck, sliding down into my shirt. I began to panic as I attempted to get the slippery object that was in my shirt, out of it. As I went crazy trying to get the ice out of my shirt, I could hear chuckling coming from behind me. Giving up altogether on trying to get the now melted snow out of my shirt, I turned to where the laughter was coming from.

I narrowed my eyes when my gaze landed on Tyson, but I couldn't' help but smile when I saw the look on Tyson's face. Looking down at the snow beside me, my smile widened as I quickly picked up snow and rolled it into a ball before swiftly throwing it at Tyson, smacking him right in the face. I burst out laughing as I held my stomach in pain, and when Tyson finally composed himself his face was red, probably from how hard the snowball hit him in the face.

We both laughed before quickly making a pile then picking up snow and hurling it at one another. Tyson wanted a war, so he was going to get one.

Time was one of the many things that I forgot about during our battle. I hadn't realized that Tyson and I had been out here for practically the whole day until Kenny came outside and told me it was time for dinner, before running back inside hurriedly without looking back at us, while pulling his little coat tighter around him. I hadn't exactly noticed how cold I was until I walked into the cabin, or how wet. I carefully peeled my coat off my body along with my gloves, pushing and shoving Tyson as I did. We laughed before we started pushing each other some more. I always acted like a complete goof when I was around him, but that would never change, no matter how old I was.

I sat down and started to eat the warm soup that Hilary had made. I froze just as I was about to put my spoon into my mouth and turned toward Kenny.

"Hey, Kenny, do you know where my suitcase is? It's not outside where I left it." Kenny shrugged while typing away on Dizzy.

"I think I saw it in your room." My eyebrows furrowed a little before I opened my mouth again,

"Eat…" My eyes traveled toward the voice, only to have them widen. It was Kai, I guess I was bothering him with my little suitcase predicament. I heard a snicker before someone spoke up again.

"You might want to close your mouth, Max, you might catch flies." I pouted before snapping my mouth shut, ignoring Tyson's comment. We thanked Hilary for the food, well everyone Tyson, he thought it would be funny and say to Hilary that she didn't know how to cook and that it tasted like trash. Of course, this led to yet another quarrel between the two. I smiled before heading to the hallway where the rooms where, opening the doors along the way to find my lost suitcase.

There were only two more rooms that I hadn't checked yet along the way, so when I finally checked the second to last room, I was surprised to find my suitcase on this room sitting next to a navy blue one. I knew that suitcase a little too well now. I goofy grin spread across my face as I took my suitcase and started to unpack. About halfway through my unpacking I heard the floorboards creek as someone walked down the hall. I smiled and waited for the person I knew all too well to walk through the door, probably not expecting me to be here.

Just as I predicted, the person who walked into the room wasn't expecting me to be sitting on the floor sorting through my things, so when he walked in he jumped a bit before letting a goofy smile that matched mine earlier take over his features.

"Tyson!" I smiled and watched as he ran up to his bed, jumped up and started hopping up and down on the cushion.

I finally finished packing, and by that time Tyson and I thought it would be the perfect time to test out how durable out beds were under out weight. Guess not… Apparently at two in the morning, normal people who weren't as energetic as the two of us put together actually needed, so as we jumped up and down on our beds we made a handful of noise. All the screeching of the bedsprings and the banging as the headboard smacked against the thin walls of the cabin put together with our laughter was enough to wake up a very unhappy teammate who was, like a normal person, trying to get some rest. There was a pounding on the door, and before one of us could even think about answering it, the door flew open, revealing a very annoyed looking Kai behind it.

Tyson and I looked at each other once more before gulping simultaneously. Kai's tired glared was enough to make us freeze on the spot, but when he turned to me and we locked eyes, I was sure I was about pass out. I smiled sheepishly before opening my mouth to say something,

"Look, Kia, we were just about to go to sle-"

"Come!" When he barked out the order, cutting me off, I jumped slightly before scrambling off of my bed and cautiously walking up to him.

"Y-Yes, Kai."

"Get your things, your trading rooms with Rei." I gulped before nodding quickly, gathering my belongings before rushing back up to the door where Kai was standing. The glare never disappeared from his features as he moved over ever so slightly; allowing me to pass by and run down the hall to the room where I knew Rei was sleeping in. Rei was standing outside of his room, he also had a tired look on his face as he nodded at me and started to walk away.

I quickly walked through the door and went to the side of the room where my bed was going to be. I speedily dumped whatever I came in with into the night table next to my bed. Swiftly, I jumped into my bed before pulling up the covers. It wasn't as if I was scared of Kai or anything, but after the way he barged into my room like that I wasn't really willing to take any chances.

The door swung open harshly, cutting through the air so that I could hear the wind as it did. Kai walked in, obviously still tired and grouchy. I could tell that just by looking at his face, the glare from earlier not even close to gone yet. He turned to me before he shut the door, meeting my eyes. I gulped once again when his amethyst eyes met mine; I guess Kai really _did_ need sleep after all.

He sighed before his glare finally disappeared, calmly walking over to his bed before lying down and calmly lifting the blanket over his body.

"Kai, I really am sor-"

"Quiet," he hissed and my mouth clamped shut automatically. He turned around to face the wall, leaving his back facing me. I sighed and shook my head before looking up at the wood ceiling on top of me.

'_This is going to be a long night…'_

_Okay tell me what you think about this chapter, and are Max and Kai a bit OOC because I tried to make it as believable as possible, so please R&R, but only if you like it! Thanks for reading! I'll try and post as soon as I can but it's already Sunday and I've got school to worry about, so sorry if it's a long wait….I'll try._


	3. Question For Viewers

_Okay, I know that I'm taking a long time to update the next chapter but I just have a question first for all of you who read this. Would whoever is reading this enjoy seeing Tyson and Hilary get together in this. Chapter three is almost finished and I know what I'm going to do already with it I just need to type it out. So Review and leave your opinion because I would really like to know if I should add that couple in there. _

_ Sincerely, Animeartist123_


	4. Chapter 3

_I would like to thank all of my reviewers who actually took the time to read this story and who are motivating me to keep going with it! My wrist is healed so I will try my best to post faster again. Okay, on with the story!_

_Max's P.O.V._

I groaned quietly as I stirred in my sleep, the sound of water pelting something immediately disturbed me from the calm and peaceful trance I was in. Groaning one more time, as if that were going to make the noise stop, I snapped my eyes open before looking around. After about fifteen seconds of looking around, my eyes finally landed on the empty bed on my left. I wouldn't have known Kai had slept in that bed by the way it looked if I hadn't witnessed him lie down and go to sleep with my own two eyes.

Everything from last night flashed through my head once again from when Tyson and I were making noise as we jumped on our beds up to the point when I was sent into a different room by Kai, and then _ignored_ by _Kai_ as _I_ tried to _apologize_. I mean, I knew Kai didn't really like talking all that much, but he was so mad that he actually neglected my very existence last night.

I must've been in deep thought when it happened, but somehow the sound of water had stopped and Kai had walked into the room, towel around his waist and hair dripping with water. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion as I looked up at him when he entered the room. I had never seen Kai like this before, the blue shark fins completely washed off with only a towel around his waist and water dripping onto the floor from his body.

I gulped silently before following him with my eyes, my heart rate quickening with each passing second. Catching me off guard, Kai turned around and stared at me for a while, his amethyst eyes burning into my sapphire ones.

"Showers open…" I blinked a few times stupidly before my eyes widened and I practically jumped out of my bed. The only thoughts that were registered in my brain at the moment were,_ 'Kai saw me staring at him like that, know he probably has another reason to hate me! Nice going, Max!'_

I gulped once again before nodding and looking away, feeling the awkwardness from the silence in the room creep up and fill the air in the room. _'Just great…'_ My head snapped up quickly when I heard shuffling, and somehow Kai had gotten closer to me in the last few seconds. His eyes seemed to have a softer feel to them as he, once again, looked into my blue orbs.

"Look, Max, I'm sorry for last night…. I just needed some sleep, and I obviously wasn't going to get any while you and Tyson shared the same room. …" After that I couldn't seem to help the blush that took over my face as it crept up my neck onto my ears and my cheeks, so I looked down to avoid the embarrassment. This was probably the most I heard Kai speak to anyone on the team before, aside from giving orders to us of course.

I nodded quickly again before looking back up at him and smiling sheepishly while rubbing my neck.

"I'm sorry, too. I should've known that people were trying to get some sleep and stopped what I was doing right away. Sorry about that, I get sort of riled up when I'm in the same room as Tyson." I chuckled as I spoke the last part of my sentence, not being able to stop myself from sneaking a glance at Kai when he turned slightly away from me.

I didn't know if it were my grogginess that was making me delusional, but I actually thought that I had seen a ghost of a smile on my team leaders face. I couldn't help but stare idiotically once again, shaking my head when I finally noticed what I was doing.

"Umm, I think I'm going to go take a shower now." Kai nodded before turning toward his nightstand and pulling out his usual clothing (G-Revolution outfit). I scurried off toward the bathroom before closing the door hurriedly. I didn't know why, but standing in the same room as Kai when he looked the way he did made me feel kind of weird.

I relaxed under the warm water that hit my skin, matting my blond hair onto my head, blocking my view of the things around me. Maybe it was because Draciel was my bit-beast, but I had always seemed to love the water growing up, it always seemed to calm me down no matter what was happening around me. _Water_, the absolute opposite of _fire_, I had no idea why that thought drifted through my head at that very moment, but for some reason that thought disturbed me to a great extent.

Turning the water off, I stood there in thought for a moment, wondering why Kai hadn't pushed us to train so hard yet. I mean, if the battle between the mysterious team wasn't that far away, then why weren't we training as hard as we used to? I cautiously stepped out of the shower, trying to avoid slipping as I lost myself in thought once again. I searched for my light green towel for a few seconds before there was a knock on the door.

I slowly walked up the wooden door, debating whether or not I should actually open it or not, due to the fact that I was naked right now. Finally deciding that I should, I opened the door, only sticking my head out while using the door to cover the naked half of my body to whoever it was knocking on the door.

I didn't register that something light green and fluffy was being shoved in my face until it rubbed the tip of my nose, making me feel like I was about to sneeze. I quickly covered my nose as I sneezed, quickly looking up to find out what the fluffy object was. Apparently that fluffy object was my towel, and, _no_, it was not floating in the air waiting for me to grab it, because someone was actually holding it up for me.

I followed the hand up to the person's face only to go wide eyed before quickly snatching the towel and blushing madly. I didn't understand why, but I was extremely embarrassed to see Kai standing there watching me after I had snatched my towel away quickly, a blank look on his face.

"You left it on your night stand…" I nodded before mumbling a thanks and closing the door. I rapped the towel around my waist and quietly stepped out of the bathroom, expecting to find Kai in there as well. You wouldn't believe my surprise when I walked into an empty room. I sighed and brushed it off before getting dressed again, ready to greet everyone who was awake already.

The smell of bacon reached my nose, making my stomach growl and forcing me to walk quicker than usual down the hall to the kitchen. More and more smells started to run up to my nose, images appearing in my head trying to figure out what was waiting for me in there. My mouth started to water, and just as I passed my old room something burst through the door, knocking me down onto the floor with it.

I groaned and opened my eyes, my brain already piecing together what, or better yet who, was on top of me, paralyzing me from moving. A chuckle made its way out of my mouth when I felt the person struggling to pull themselves up. When I looked, as expected, I was greeted by a big pair of dark hazel eyes. I chuckled one more time before pushing the person back with all my might.

"Come on, Tyson, get up already. We're late for breakfast already." As soon as I mentioned breakfast Tyson shot up off of me and scurried down the hallway. I giggled quickly before standing up again, dashing down the hallway after him.

When I entered the door to the kitchen, everything seemed pretty silent, this amazed me. When Tyson was in a room nothing was ever silent so something serous had to be happening. Rei turned his head to me calmly before smiling. I could tell that what I did last night didn't bother him anymore.

"Your breakfast is on the table, Max." I grinned and nodded before walking over to the counter before picking up my plate of food. The only seat left was right next to Kai, so I cautiously took a seat next to him. I knew he had said that everything was fine between us now, but I couldn't help but still feel bothered by something when I was around him. Slowly stabbing the end of my fork into the eggs on my plate, I placed the fork into my mouth and savored the flavor of it. A goofy grin appeared on my face before I turned to look at Rei.

"You sure know how to cook, Rei!" He beamed when I said this, nodding and rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Yeah, well, that is what I want to do when I grow up." Just then Tyson piped up.

"When I become the famous world champion when I'm older I'll make sure to hire you so you can cook for me." I chuckled before shaking my head.

"Leave it to Tyson to make this about _him_." Tyson seemed to visibly cringe after hearing that voice, and after hearing a soft snicker to my left I saw a smirk on Kai's face.

"H-Hi, Hilary." Tyson choked out. He had obviously not been expecting her to make an appearance so early in the morning. As if coming to Tyson's recue Kai spoke, cutting Hilary off before she could say something else.

"There's a training room over in the far corner of the cabin where Daichi's room should be, I was thinking that we should train more if we're ever going to beat the other team in our competition." Everyone knew that what Kai was saying was true, and even if it weren't then he would still make us do it anyway. With Kai, things were never really an option; you either do what he tells you to do without a fight, or fight with him about and then later on _still_ do what he tells you to do. We obviously always picked the latter.

We nodded quickly before finishing off the rest of our food, we had decided to go check out the training area as soon as everyone was done eating and ready to go. But of course, Tyson had to have seconds, and his only excuse was that Rei's cooking was just too good. Of course this comment made Rei blush and chuckle sheepishly again as we all waited for him to finish.

When we finally managed to get to training room it seemed pretty old. I smiled as I looked at Tyson and saw a gleam in his eyes. He might have hated practicing with Kai, but he did love a good, heated battle. We got set into our partner groups for our training and we all nodded when Kia asked us if we were ready. Once again, that wasn't really a question that required a response due to the fact that, if you weren't ready by now then you better be by the time he finishes speaking.

Rei and I got into our places on either side of the dish that we claimed, as did Tyson and Kai. Our launchers were ready as our fingers gripped our rip cords, we were all determined to win this battle even it was just for practice. Kenny looked between us before nodding,

"One, two, three. Let it rip!" Driger and Draciel flew into the dish, immediately charging at one another. After about ten seconds of our blades ramming into one another I went on the defense. A smirk appeared on my face as I formulated a plan in my head, calculating Rei's exact moves and how I would counter them all. As if sensing that I was creating a plan Rei looked up and became more serious, looking down at the two blades and watching them carefully.

"Max, watch out and get out of the way!" My head snapped to my left and my eyes widened. Everything seemed to be going in slow motion as I moved to get out of the way of the rapidly spinning toward my face. In a matter of seconds I felt a wave of pain wash over me as I hit the floor from the impact of the blade. I opened my eyes and sat up slowly while holding my nose, red ooze coming from my nose.

Groaning, I took the hand that was extended to me, not even bothering to check who it was.

"Hey, are you okay?" I nodded as I blinked rapidly, the dizziness still not disappearing from my line of vision yet.

"I'm fine, I'm just going to go to the bathroom and clean up first." Whoever was in front of me nodded slowly before looking away.

"Come on, Kai, you can't even say that you're sorry? I mean, it was _your_ blade after all."

'_Tyson's voice, no mistake…'_ I heard a low growl emitting from somewhere in the room before Tyson grunted loudly, obviously someone had elbowed him in the gut. I chuckled before walking off in the direction that I believed that bathroom was in. Grabbing some tissue, I pinched my noise, waiting patiently for the blood to stop dripping out. A knock echoed through the tiny room before the wooden door opened slowly and silently.

"Hey, Max," I knew that voice, I had heard it so many times scolding Tyson and I for goofing off too much. "Are you alright?" I turned to him and nodded, smiling. I chose not to talk at the moment due to the fact that I would probably sound like a duck. "Take a little break and go have some fresh air outside." I nodded yet again and removed the tissue from my nose minute.

"Thanks, Kai!"

"Hmph." I smiled before pinching my nose one again as he left. I knew he wouldn't show it but I could tell that he was glad that I was okay.

When the blood stopped I made my way outside, exploring for a while until I heard the snow crunching in front of me, becoming easier to hear. I slowly looked up and smiled when I saw boy who looked as if he were fifteen as well looking at me. His black hair was spiky and short, sticking out in all directions. He wore a red coat that was buttoned up well, his black boots digging into the white snow. There was a strange sparkle in his dark brown eyes, almost making me feel like I was missing something.

"Hi, I'm Max!" I grinned ear to ear before extending my hand to him, waiting for his introduction.

"Hi," his hand firmly gripped mine, but also had a warm gentle touch to it. "My names Amare." I opened my mouth to speak again once we were done shaking hands, but was cut off when I heard more snow crunching beneath someone's weight.

"Max! It's time to go already." I turned around, oblivious to the glare that the holder of the amethyst eyes were sending to the hazel eyed boy, and started toward the cabin once again.

_Normal P.O.V._

The two fifteen year olds stayed staring at one another for a second longer, one glaring while the other stayed with that mysterious gleam in his eyes. Neither seemed to have any intentions of leaving any time soon, but the trance like state the two were in was broken when the voice of a certain blond called out to amethyst eyed boy. Kai slowly turned, sending one more glare toward Amare, walking away afterward.

Amare chuckled when he saw the look Kai had given him before he had left. His gaze had held something of determination, and possessiveness. Amare chuckled one last time before heading off in the direction he had come from, having images of the blonde's smile and wondering if they would ever cross paths again.

_Okay, so honestly I was just trying to get my ideas on paper, yet this is not my best writing yet. I probably won't be updating in the next week due to it being close to the end of the quarter in school so the work is really starting to pile up now. Anyway, please R&R with any tips that you think will help my story or if you just want to say something to me about what you think about it so far. So, who do you guys think this mysterious 'Amare' is? Put your best guesses in your Reviews(if you want to review or even want to answer) and you'll soon find out if you're right or not! Thanks for Reading!_


	5. Chapter 4

_Blades slammed together roughly, we had to cover our eyes to keep the sparks out. The spark in my opponent's eyes was very intimidating, but it was just making me wonder why it was there in the first place. _

"_You don't know how long I've been waiting to meet you again." A quick smile flashed across their face, making me wary, a growl threatening to rip from my throat. This person always made me lose my calm exterior. _

"_I won't lose to you. It doesn't matter who you are, I won't show any weaknesses!" _

_Earlier That Day…_

_Max's P.O.V._

The blades slammed into one another, sparks flying from the impact. Every time the two had battled it was always something remarkable. They made sure to give it their best, not backing down when it seemed as if all odds were against them. Plans formed in their heads quickly, a smirk appearing every time one did.

Kai had said something about needing 'to learn how to formulate quick plans in our heads. The competition was getting closer, so obviously Kai has wanted to know we could handle anything.

I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I nearly missed it when both blades rammed into the other, sending them flying back into their owners hand almost instantaneously. Immediately, everyone went to Tyson's side, checking to see how he was after the energy draining battle with Kai.

I seemed to be the only one interested in how Kai was doing, because I was the only one to walk up to him with a goofy grin on my face.

"Hi, Kai!" He didn't bother to look up at me as he rubbed his thumb over Dranzer.

"Hn…" Normally, I would take this offensive, but this was just normal Kai behavior.

"Nice battle with Tyson over there. I can't remember the last time there was such a heated battle going on!" The excitement in my voice was evident, but I couldn't control the overwhelming wave of delight that crashed down on me. As Kai looked up, our eyes met and I froze, everything seeming as if frozen, only to have him turn his head and look at the others. My eyes darted down to the floor, apparently finding the dust on the floor interesting at the moment, a crimson blush quickly consuming my face.

"It's getting colder out, so we're going to the store a couple of miles from here to buy some more clothes we might need." Everyone nodded, and I was pretty sure that I heard Tyson scream 'yay' from the corner of the room before dashing off into the hallway to get his coat. After Tyson left, everyone followed in suit, grabbing their coats and whatever else belonged to them before walking out of the door. I, being flustered, was the slowest trying to put on my coat, scarf, and gloves. My arms slipped into the fluffy fabric of the coat, fitting me snuggly. I struggled to get my gloves on, trying to hurry in worry of being left behind. I was panicking so much that I missed the figure walking up to me, picking up my orange scarf and coming closer. My eyes widened and I had to bite my lip just to stop the yelp that wanted to come out when I found my scarf being wrapped around my neck by someone other than me. Turning around quickly, I gasped and jumped back a bit when I saw who was standing behind me.

"K-Kai, what are you doing?" I mentally hit myself for stuttering like that, what was wrong with me? He stared at me with a blank expression before answering.

"You were taking so long that the others went ahead, so I had stay behind and wait for you so you wouldn't get lost…" My head cocked to the side, if I would get lost without Kai, then how did they know where they were going?

"But how do they know where they're going if you're not with them either?" Kai turned around and began walking, and for a second I thought he was ignoring me.

"Kenny brought his Dizzy along with him, she's leading the way for them." I nodded, following Kai out into the snow once my gloves were on all the way. As soon as I stepped outside, cold wind slammed against my face, making me gasp and stop breathing all together. With my eyes closed, I felt my body being pulled forward by a hand around my wrist, but I didn't fight against it as I did. The wind seemed to calm down, but what got me to open my eyes was the tight pressure on my wrist. I looked down, seeing Kai's gloved hand holding my wrist with a death grip, and my head tilted to the side questioningly.

I opened my mouth to speak, but clamped it shut when I saw him glaring at the hardened snow. Following his gaze, my eyebrows furrowed as I saw footprints. The footprints weren't scattered like my team had walked by, but they was one trail like one person had walked along. That was when I took a look around at my surroundings.

_I slowly looked up and smiled when I saw boy who looked as if he were fifteen as well looking at me. His black hair was spiky and short, sticking out in all directions. He wore a red coat that was buttoned up well, his black boots digging into the white snow. There was a strange sparkle in his dark brown eyes, almost making me feel like I was missing something._

"_Hi, I'm Max!" I grinned ear to ear before extending my hand to him, waiting for his introduction. _

"_Hi," his hand firmly gripped mine, but also had a warm gentle touch to it. "My names Amare." I opened my mouth to speak again once we were done shaking hands, but was cut off when I heard more snow crunching beneath someone's weight. _

"_Max! It's time to go already." I turned around, oblivious to the glare that the holder of the amethyst eyes were sending to the hazel eyed boy, and started toward the cabin once again. _

"Amare…" His name slipped off my tongue before I could stop it, making me instantly making me look at Kai, only to see him tense up considerably. I gulped when Kai stopped walking, making me bump into his back at the sudden movement. He growled under his breath, making me raise my hand to touch his shoulder, but as soon as my gloved fingers were about to make contact with his covered arm he abruptly began to walk again. Due to the fact that he held my wrist in his hand, I was dragged along, too.

The whole way there, I couldn't seem to stop thinking about my encounter with the strange Amare. He looked nice enough, but what was he doing out there? What was that look in his eyes, was I missing something, maybe I just didn't wipe the blood off of my face enough and some still showed? I sighed inwardly, the thoughts that flooded my brain subsided when I heard a crash and some giggling, but only before there was a sound of someone yelling. Finally, I looked around, realizing that we weren't on the deserted path any longer, but were on a sidewalk surrounded by stores and few people.

"Tyson, I can't believe you just did that!" I cracked a smile for the first time after the battle that Kai and Tyson had this morning, and went to run along to follow the voices when I found myself being pulled back. My eyebrows creased, and almost immediately I looked down at the hand encased around my wrist, keeping me within a reasonable distance. Looking up slowly, I watched as Kai made quick and easy strides to the store that the noise came from, a blank look on his face. I didn't understand, Kai didn't seem to be the type of person to not be thinking about something every second of the day, but he sure didn't show that. The way he walked around with that emotionless expression on his face, I would have thought that Kai never even thought about anything.

To say his expression was completely rid of all emotions was a little fib, there was emotion, but it was sort of hard to decipher. I squinted my eyes, studying him harder than I ever had before. Determination, frustration, and annoyance? That was when I heard another crash coming from the store that Tyson's name was screamed from. That was when it dawned on me, Kai's scowl became visible as he shook his head slightly. Catching me off guard, Kai looked at me, his amethyst eyes burning into my azure orbs. Already, I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks as the blood rushed to my face. He stared at me with a hint of confusion on his face, but it was gone as soon as it came, making me wonder if it was really even there in the first place.

When he looked away, I pretty much sighed in relief and darted my eyes away from where his used to be, excited to be free from his captivating hold. Walking, still with the same easy and quick strides, we had made it to the front of a store.

'_S veshalki.'_ Obviously seeing my confusion, Kai answered the question that had been floating through my head since I saw the shop.

"It means 'Off The Hanger'…" I nodded and waited for him to walk in, I had learned from the last time I had tried to run somewhere other than where he was leading that he wasn't going to let me go. For some reason, my brain didn't fully register that he was holding my wrist, or that he was sort of holding me against my will. Well, it would've been against my will if I cared at all about it, but I didn't so it was okay. I didn't realize that we had started walking again until I felt myself being pulled forward, making me look up just in time to see that we were inside of the store and that there was an immense amount of store items on the ground.

My eyes scanned over the area, noticing that there was a shelf knocked over, spilling all of is contents onto the floor. It didn't take a genius to figure out who did, and as soon as we saw this, Kai and I had our eyes locked on Tyson. It was like everything inside the store seemed to freeze when Kai and I walked in, especially Tyson, who was currently fighting with Hilary over a pair of gloves. When Tyson saw Kai, he smiled nervously.

"Hey, buddy!" Kai glared, his grip on me becoming tighter, growling almost inaudibly. He opened his mouth, as if he was about to say something, but closed it and breathed deeply, his grip became slightly less tight.

"Just hurry up and buy something already." Everyone nodded and dispersed into one of the aisles, looking for their choice of clothing.

For the first time since we left the house, Kai released my wrist, allowing me to walk freely. I smiled when I walked down an aisle that had coats. Although a rack with big, fluffy green ones caught my attention, making me beam. Quickly walking off toward them, I took one off the hanger and tried it on, this would definitely keep me warm from the Russian air. Looking around, I furrowed my brows. Where were all of the gloves?

_Kai's P.O.V._

Looking around, I walked down every aisle until I found what I was looking for, although, I wouldn't be buying anything. My clothes were already warm enough, but I thought that as long as I was here that it wouldn't hurt to look. My eyebrow shot up when I saw gloves, immediately drawing me in. Picking up the soft material in my hands, I turned it around, examining it further. Images of a certain blond blue eyed boy flashed through my head, making me narrow my eyes a bit. Brushing it off as nothing important, I continued to examine the gloves. They were waterproof, and green, too. A little image of Max and Tyson throwing snowballs at each other played through my head. The next thing that happened was a chibi sized max was crying, holding his freezing fingers and Tyson, also in chibi form, started to panic. I raised my eyebrow at that one, the cold air in Russia was obviously messing with my head.

Deciding that I was going to give these to Max, I started to search for them, but it wasn't hard to find him, he was probably the only quiet one in the store, so it wouldn't be hard to find a quiet spot in one of the aisles. He did also have blond hair that wouldn't go unnoticed in such a cramped up place. Seeing the silhouette of someone in the aisle over from me, I calmly walked over to it, quietly coming closer to it. From behind, I could see the blond hair, this was obviously the happy-go-lucky boy that I knew for almost four years already.

"Max." Watching as he turned around slowly at the sound of his name, I tossed him the gloves and watched as he grinned with excitement. He looked up at me, his joy evident in his azure eyes.

"Thanks, Kai! I was looking for some, but I couldn't find them anywhere." Turning around, I gave a short reply.

"Hn."

_Max's P.O.V._

As I watched him walk away, I smiled cheekily, looking down at the gloves in my hand.

When everyone finally had everything that they had wanted form the store, we waited in line and headed toward the door once we were done, enjoying our newly found warmness. I was walking behind Tyson as we were about to exit the store, but I found myself bumping into his back. I looked up slowly, only to see Kai holding Tyson by the back of his coat's collar, a glare on his face. He pointed to something beside him, and Tyson and I followed where it was pointing to. His finger lead to the fallen shelf from earlier, the one with everything that was on its surface on the floor now.

"I know it was you, Tyson. So, clean it up." Tyson gulped, nodding quickly and dashing off in the direction of the spilled contents. I looked back at him, feeling sorry.

"I'll help him, too." I could have sworn I heard Kai sigh silently, but when I turned to him he had a blank expression. The blank expression that held so much emotion…

"Hn." I took this as his way of approving, and I scurried off to Tyson's side, quickly kneeling down to help him pick up the items.

After about thirty minutes, we had finished picking up the shelf, and placing all of its contents back onto its surface.

"Let's go you two, the other are probably wondering where you are and what we're doing." We both nodded, and that was when I realized how just hungry I was, my stomach growling, demanding that I eat something soon. I blushed when I saw that all eyes were on me, and that Tyson had a playful smile on his face. Slinging his arm over my shoulder, his grin widened.

"I guess I'm not the only one who's thinking about food right now, am I, Maxie?" Crimson flooded onto my cheeks, making me all the more embarrassed as I looked down.

With that, we took our leave, heading home, hoping that we'd be there just in time to have dinner. I was about to open my mouth to say something, when something cold and wet slammed against the side of my face. I shivered, immediately looking at Tyson, glaring slightly at him before picking up a snowball of my own and chucking it. There was a soft thud on the floor, but I was too preoccupied to notice, or care for that matter.

When we got to the cabin, Tyson and I couldn't wait sit down and dig into our curry fast enough.

"Oh man, Rei! You're the best, man!" Tyson and I exclaimed, not wasting any time stuffing our faces.

When dinner was over, I smiled, thanking Rei before walking off and heading toward my room. Slipping my hand into my pocket to receive Draciel, I froze in sheer terror. The door to my room opened, and I looked up to see Kai entering. Seeing the look of fear on my face, his eyebrows furrowed.

"What is it?" I took in one more gasp of breath before answering.

"I think I dropped Draciel when we were coming back home!" Not even leaving any time for Kai to react, I started to stumble around, gathering the things I would need to take another trip to the store from earlier. "Wait, Max." I wasn't listening, I was hysterical right now, my brain not processing right. "Max!" I froze, turning to him as my eyes glazed over with tears.

"What if he's not there when I go back?" I heard shuffling around before I dropped everything in my hands onto the floor.

"Stay here, I'll look." I nodded not aware of what my body was doing until it did it. Catching Kai off guard, I wrapped my arms around his frame, leaning against him as well.

"Kai, thank you..." Nodding, he carefully peeled me away from him and soundlessly left the house.

_Kai's P.O.V._

As I walked the path we had walked earlier, I scanned the area thoroughly.

"Looking for this?" My eyes widened, my head snapping to the side before my eyes locked on something standing a few feet away from me. I narrowed my eyes, trying to pick up things that stood out on that person's body, anything that would help me figure out who they were. Something shiny in the hand of the mysterious silhouette caught my eye, making my eyes narrow considerably.

"Draciel…" A growl threatened to make its way out of my mouth as my hands clenched together to make a fist. There was a small chuckle before auburn eyes flashed in the dark night.

"The little blond sure is interesting, he reminds me of a puppy in some ways. Cute, sweet, innocent, he's everything someone could possibly want." I snarled, feeling like I was about to pounce. "He's such a delight. Max…" My eyes narrowed as his name slipped off his tongue, it didn't sound right coming from _him_.

"Leave him out of this!" Another chuckle made its way through the night air, making me want to snarl again.

"Tell you what, if you want his blade back, you'll just have to battle me for it." I glared, scoffing, though, none the less.

"Please, let's just get this over with." I reached into my pocket, pulling out my rip cord and beyblade, winding it up. It was time to finish this, I had Max at home probably crying his eyes out he's so worried, so I can't be delayed any longer.

Immediately, ourblades slammed together roughly, we had to cover our eyes to keep the sparks ut. The spark in my opponent's eyes was very intimidating, but it was just making me wonder why it was there in the first place.

"You don't know how long I've been waiting to meet you again." A quick smirk flashed across their face, making me wary, a growl threatening to rip from my throat. This person always made me lose my calm exterior.

"I won't lose to you. It doesn't matter who you are, I won't show any weaknesses!"

_Sorry for updating after about a month later, I was being lazy and there is no excuse, so please R&R if you liked it. Thank you for all of the people out there who have actually been waiting for the new chapter. I should be updating more this week because of the week off of school, so expect more coming your way!_


	6. Chapter 5

I let out a strained groan as I continued trying to open my eyes. My head pounded, and with each thump, a wave of pain coursed through my body. I slowly sat up, not trying to trigger any more pain shooting through me. My first instinct was to look around, but as I tried to open my eyes once again, I realized that they burned more than I thought. I lifted my hand, rubbing my eyelids in hope that it would aid me in trying get them open.

As soon as my hand came in contact with the skin over my eyes, I came to the realization that they not only burned, but were also puffy. Putting together the symptoms of both puffy and burning eyes, I figured they were bloodshot as well from me crying. Memories of last night flashed through my head before I pushed them away, my hand still rubbing and trying to get my eyes open. After ten seconds of doing this, my eyes cracked open and I took a look around, the furniture in the room replaced with blurry images and smudged colors. Sighing at the immobility of my eyes, I tried willing myself to make out more than just hazy objects.

A while passed before my hands started to look more like actual hands, and I could look around the room and see what I was looking at. Looking to my left, something green caught my eye, making me double take. There he was, the best friend that I had thought to be lost just yesterday.

"Draciel," I sprung out of my bed. "how did to get here?" I had him in my palm now, looking directly at him, not being able to help the grin that made its way onto my face. When no answer came from him, I looked around, the sudden curiosity of where my roommate was washed over me. I looked around a little more, the room wasn't that big, but maybe he was he was here somewhere.

"Kai?" I waited for five seconds in silence, soon coming to the conclusion that he wasn't located anywhere in the room with me. I looked down at Draciel, beaming before I lunged at the door and tackled the handle, pulling the door open before I dashed down the hall to begin my search. I was sure Kai was the one who brought Draciel back to me. I mean, if not him, then who?

The house seemed quiet, but I figured it was only because Tyson wasn't up yet. I could hear the thump that echoed through whichever room I had entered when I walked, making me believe that not even Kenny or Rei were up yet. The first place I stopped was the kitchen, the idea that he had wanted breakfast like a normal person in the morning popping into my head. I looked around, sighing inwardly as my eyes swept over the empty room.

My search went on like this for a while, before I walked into the last room I had yet to check. But once again, the living room was just like every other room that I had thoroughly scoped through; deserted… My shoulders slumped in disappointment, my azure eyes hitting the floor as images of Kai racked my brain. Where was he? As soon as the thought processed, my eyes flew up to the door, a smile consuming my features.

"That's it!" I scurried to the coat rack, grabbing the fluffy fabric and shrugging into it hurriedly. In my haste, I disregarded my gloves and scarf, dashing to the exit.

When I pulled the door open I was greeted by the foreign breeze of Russia. In an instant, I could already tell that my lips were turning pink, along with my nose. I cautiously stepped out, hearing the familiar noise of snow crunching beneath my weight. I took my first three steps, already dreading the fact that I overlooked the importance of wearing gloves and a scarf. Maybe it was the fact that I hadn't seen him all morning, or I was beginning to worry about his well being, but I could almost hear his voice in the back of my head scolding me for doing so.

I lifted my leg, getting ready to take another tortures step into the oldness.

"Max!" My head snapped up, instantly turning to the direction of the voice. You can image my surprise when I was a groggy looking Tyson and a worried Rei standing in the front door, staring at me as if I were crazy. Tyson's hand rose, pushing his black, and if I didn't know any better, almost blue hair out of his face.

"Max, what are you doing out here this early?" I grinned sheepishly, my hand immediately going to the back of my neck and rubbing it.

"I don't suppose any of you know where Kai went, do you?" They both simultaneously shook their heads, sharing a confused glance with one another before Tyson looked back.

"Why are you looking for Mr. Grouch anyway?" Rei shook his head at Tyson's nickname, looking back at me before opening his mouth.

"Though it could be better worded, why _are_ you looking for Kai?" I looked down, my hand instantly feeling the cool metal of Draciel from my pocket where I had placed him. Kai's image flashed through my head before I glanced up, pushing all worries aside for now.

"No reason, I was just curious is all." I smiled at the way Tyson struggled to keep his left eye open, not even paying attention to the excuse I had used. Rei smiled reassuringly, waving me back over to the cabin.

"Well, I don't know where he is, but I'm sure he would want us to eat and get right down to training." I nodded, picturing Kai's serious face as he informed us that we were going to train after breakfast. Rei beckoned me over again, and it didn't take a lot of persuasion to convince me that getting back into the warmth was what was best for me. I practically jogged over there, relishing in the heat that the fire place provided. In a second, I was out of my coat and snuggling up to the blanket on the couch. Rei chuckled, looking down at me with a soft smile on his face.

"Come on, Max, I'll make you some hot chocolate and pancakes." I beamed, nearly drooling at the thought of how the pancakes and hot chocolate would taste as they washed down my throat. My eyes were closed as I sighed out an okay, hearing Rei's feet pad against the floor as he walked to the kitchen. It wasn't until a few minutes that I was being called into the dining room by Rei, the smell of pancakes and chocolate filling my nose. I hopped up from my perch on the soft cushions, just about skipping to the table as I took my seat in front of the stacked pancakes. I beamed as I grabbed the fork on my right, looking at Rei and thanking him before digging in.

By the time I was finished, everyone seemed to be seated at the table, only one lone chair remaining. I eyed it, frozen in thought as I did.

"Max?" I was snapped out of my reverie, looking at my hazel eyes friend. "Let's go train so when Kai comes back we can totally shove it in his face and say we already did!" I chuckled at Tyson; always was a bragger. I nodded, getting up and putting my dishes away as Tyson and I headed to the training room, everyone else soon following in suit. It wasn't long before blades were slamming into one another, causing sparks to fly everywhere. My heart was racing, the adrenaline pumping through my veins.

There was nothing better than getting myself wrapped up in an intense bey-battle to get your mind off things, or better yet, _people_. I sighed as my concern for Kai came washing over me again. I was only snapped out of it when Rei came slamming into me, pushing me back a great distance, nearly to the rim of the bey-dish. I smiled confidently when I looked up and met Tyson's determined eyes, currently fixated on the battle.

For now, I let go of the worries I held, completely allowing myself to be sucked into the battle, just as Tyson was….

_Kai's P.O.V._

My feet hit the floor, snow crunching beneath my feet, echoing in the distance. I had been walking for hours now, everything from last night flooded into my head, and almost immediately I pushed them back. I didn't want to be reminded of what happened, that would only drive the knife deeper. I wasn't alone as I walked either, crowds of people talking, kids beyblading, laughing, everything that added to my anger. My eyes wandered over to the two kids beyblading, their smiling faces reminding me of a certain optimistic blond.

With the images of Max in my head came the memories last night, but I didn't fight them back down this time…

_As I walked the path we had walked earlier, I scanned the area thoroughly._

_"Looking for this?" My eyes widened, my head snapping to the side before my eyes locked on something standing a few feet away from me. I narrowed my eyes, trying to pick up things that stood out on that person's body, anything that would help me figure out who they were. Something shiny in the hand of the mysterious silhouette caught my eye, making my eyes narrow considerably._

_"Draciel…" A growl threatened to make its way out of my mouth as my hands clenched together to make a fist. There was a small chuckle before auburn eyes flashed in the dark night._

_"The little blond sure is interesting, he reminds me of a puppy in some ways. Cute, sweet, innocent, he's everything someone could possibly want." I snarled, feeling like I was about to pounce. "He's such a delight. Max…" My eyes narrowed as his name slipped off his tongue, it didn't sound right coming from__him__._

_"Leave him out of this!" Another chuckle made its way through the night air, making me want to snarl again._

_"Tell you what, if you want his blade back, you'll just have to battle me for it." I glared, scoffing, though, none the less._

_"Please, let's just get this over with." I reached into my pocket, pulling out my rip cord and beyblade, winding it up. It was time to finish this, I had Max at home probably crying his eyes out he's so worried, so I can't be delayed any longer._

_Immediately, our blades slammed together roughly, we had to cover our eyes to keep the sparks out. The spark in my opponent's eyes was very intimidating, but it was just making me wonder why it was there in the first place._

_"You don't know how long I've been waiting to meet you again." A quick smirk flashed across their face, making me wary, a growl threatening to rip from my throat. This person always made me lose my calm exterior._

_"I won't lose to you. It doesn't matter who you are, I won't show any weaknesses!" He smirked, his blade ramming into mine with more force. _

"_Do you think he'll be excited when he sees Draciel is safe and sound when I give it back to him?" This time, I couldn't help the growl that ripped its way out of my throat, the light in my opponents auburn eyes shining brighter. _

"_I told you to leave him out of this!" He smirked, chuckling calmly. _

"_But isn't this what the whole battle is about? We're both fighting about him in a way…" I narrowed my eyes, Dranzer repeatedly slamming him away from me. _

"_Dranzer!" My phoenix rose from within its bit chip, a battle cry booming throughout the area. He smiled softly, calling out his own bit beast, but I was too focused on winning that I barely caught the image of it, let alone the outline and the name. The time was now; if I wanted to win I would need to strike now. With one more battle cry, Dranzer leaped into action, tackling the other bit beast. Before I could even tell Dranzer to attack again, he was back in my hand, the burning from the metal reaching through to my glove covered skin. _

_My eyes widened slightly, frozen as I thought. Had I lost? There was a small chuckle in the distance, my eyes being drawn back to my opponent. By then I noticed that he, too, had his beyblade in his hand. So I didn't lose, it was a tie… he slowly walked over to me, the calm smile still on his face as he did. _

"_Here," he extended his hand out, Draciel falling out of his and into my palm. "I can't imagine how stressed he must be because of it." The glint in his hazel eyes brightened, as if ignited. "Tell him I said hi, I'm sure he'll be happy to hear from me."I growled lowly to myself, but before I could even answer him with a snarl, he was turned around and halfway gone. Right before he was out of view, he turned around, a taunting smile on his face. "Make sure you tell Max I said hi, or might just have to say it myself…" my hands clenched into fists, the hand holding Draciel grasping him tightly as I did. _

_After composing myself, I lifted off of the ground from where I sat on my knees. Somehow at the end of the battle, the exhaustion caught up to me and I went down. I looked behind, the path to the cabin seeming to taunt me slightly. When I made it back, I was reluctant to even enter the room I shared with the peppy blond, but I gathered up my courage and gripped the handle, cracking the door open slowly and quietly. The first thing I saw was his blond locks sticking out from the blanket, which was draped over his face and body. _

_I gently set Draciel down on the night table next to him, letting my eyes stray on the outline of his face beneath the blanket. I turned slowly, following my footsteps back to where I came from before leaving the cabin, making sure that I was quiet enough not to wake anyone…_

I watched as the children laughed, catching their blades as they flew back at them. Turning around slowly, I walked off onto the snowy paths of Russia, wandering aimlessly as memories washed over me.

_Max's P.O.V._

I was panting slightly, exhausted from the amount of energy that I had out into the battle. Looking at the clock, I smiled inwardly.

"I'm going to go walk around for a bit, get to know Russia!" The only people that seemed to hear me were Kenny and Hilary, who had somehow made her way to the training room without me noticing. Kenny nodded, stumbling something about how he'd print out a map for me with Dizzy, and Hilary just threw me a worried glance.

"Are you sure, Max? You don't know your surroundings that much, you might get lost." I smiled reassuringly at her, gathering my coat along with the scarf and gloves I had gotten a few days earlier. With everything on me at the moment, I took my leave, dashing out of the door and scurrying down the path that Kai had lead me down the day before. The wind blew harder, nearly pushing me back, but I fought harder every time. I needed to find Kai, and I wasn't about to let something like the weather stop me from doing so.

I looked around everywhere; crowds of people seemed to be coming from every corner. I bit my lip worriedly, maybe Hilary was right, maybe I was, just a little, lost… I gazed to my left, feeling the eerie feeling of someone watching me creep over my body.

"Max?" I looked up, hope filling my eyes immediately. Maybe I wouldn't be lost anymore. My eyes met auburn ones, my head cocking to the head in confusion. My eyes swept over the boys features, his black hair pointing out in all directions, hazel eyes shining mysteriously. My heart rate stopped hammering against my chest in panic, a smile quickly consuming my features.

"Amare?" The boy smiled, walking over to me slowly and with ease.

"Hey, Max, are you okay?" I nodded, my smile growing wider. I was starting to remember just how nice he was the day I met him.

"I'm fine," My smile turned sheepish as I chuckled nervously. "just checking out Russia a bit. I guess I forgot just how big it actually is." Amare laughed sincerely, his eyes shining brighter than before.

"Well, where are you going? I would be happy to take you there." I beamed.

"Thank you! I'm actually just looking for someone right now." My smile slowly disappeared, my eyes wandering to the floor with worry again.

"Are you by any chance looking from the boy I met last time?" I nodded slowly, a sad smile taking over my expression. He chuckled, his smile widening as he grabbed my hand, my eyes traveling up to his as he did.

"Come on, let's go look for him!" My eyes widened in disbelief.

"You're really going to help me look for him?" He grinned, pulling my hand and turning around, and thus the search for Kai began…

We checked everywhere, Amare's grip still firm but gentle as we did. I sighed tiredly, panting again as if I had just trained. Amare looked down at me, observing me as if I was a puppy in a pet shop. His smile was soft as he chuckled, pulling on my hand softly.

"Come on, Maxie, there's only one more place I want to check and then you can take a break." I nodded, forcing myself to stand correctly and be lead by the boy with the black disheveled hair. I slowly felt my ears begin to warm, my face soon following in suit. I knew my face was red, and I could only look down and try and hide my face from Amare. I couldn't help it, he called me Maxie, and for some reason it was making me extremely crimson.

I was so wrapped up in my own thoughts, I almost missed it when I little kid waked by me, nearly hitting my leg. I looked around, clearly confused. Around me were more people then I could count, but before I could even think about trying, Amare's hand shot up as he pointed.

"Isn't that him right there?" my head shot in the direction he was pointing to, and sure enough, my sapphire-like eyes connected with amethyst ones. I beamed, and if it weren't for Amare's grip on my hand I would have run over to him the minute they did.

"Kai!" His eyes traveled to Amare before his eyes narrowed, but I was too relieved to even take note of it. The two carefully walked toward each other, me following close behind Amare. "Kai I've been looking for you all day!" he looked at me for about two seconds before his eyes drifted back to Amare, his glare deepening. Amare smiled softly before he extended his hand, not once letting go of mine.

Kai seemed to notice this as well, because his eyes slowly traveled to mine, a scowl forming when he saw it. Kai cautiously gripped Amare's, shaking it firmly but slowly.

"Hi, I'm Amare, we met when I met Max." Kai nodded slowly, his narrowed eyes staring into Amare's dark brown ones.

"Kai, and I remember…" Kai looked over at me, letting go of Amare's hand as he did. "Max, you should be getting back to the cabin now." I smiled and nodded, the worried feeling coming back slightly. Amare's grip tightened just a bit, reminding me that my hand was still within his. I looked up, seeing Amare's usual smile in place.

"He's right, Maxie," once again, my face lit up, but only faintly. "but I wouldn't want you getting lost again, I'll walk you there." Before I could even open my mouth to respond, I was cut off.

"No!" We both looked toward the source of the voice, confused at how urgent it sounded.

"What's the matter Kai," I asked, wondering what was up with the sudden outburst. He glared at Amare, and for a second I thought he was going to ignore me.

"Nothing, I'll go with you back to the cabin." I ginned cheekily, pulling Amare along with me before I realized that I didn't know where I was going. I stopped suddenly, turning back around to Amare, he looked as if he had been expecting as much, before chuckling sheepishly. Understanding my predicament, he took the lead, and I took note of how Kai stared at him warily as he followed. In a sudden motion, Kai grabbed my hand as well, pulling me along at the same pace that Amare was going, forcing me to speed up and end in the middle as we walked. I blushed slightly, looking down at both of my occupied hands.

I noticed Amare smiling at Kai, which he returned with a glare, but it seemed that Kai was restraining himself. We were back at the cabin soon, and the first thing I saw was Tyson's face as he was bundled up in his own coat and gloves. He smiled, seeing me in the view, and at that moment Kai and Amare let me go, and I took that as approval to run off to Tyson, and that was exactly what I did.

"Max, I was just about to come looking for you, I was worried!" I smiled, waving him off dismissively.

"I told you that I was going to look around a bit, you shouldn't worry so much." He nodded, grinning back.

"Come on, Maxie, I want to show you my new model of Dragoon!" I chuckled, dashing inside the cabin after him.

_Normal P.O.V._

The two teens stood side by side, watching as the door shut as the blond rushed in after his brown eyed friend. The disheveled haired boy looked toward Kai, a soft smile on his face.

"You can't protect him forever you know." He turned, walking away slowly before turning back around. "Although I could see why you would want to, someone as innocent and cute as him just screams to be protected, even I won't be able to resist for long." Kai growled defensively, but before he could say anything, Amare was gone, the wind picking up ever so softly.

_A long chapter to make up for a long wait, please enjoy, this was very fun writing! Please R&R!_


	7. Chapter 6

_I'm making up for all of the time I wasted without updating, so here's another chapter!_

_Max's P.O.V._

"Come on Max, you can do it!" A smile made its way onto my face as I nodded, eyes shining with excitement. Both blades slammed together in the dish, screeching slightly.

"Go, Draciel!" The comment urged the giant turtle to move faster, gaining more distance. It wasn't long before it slammed into the opposing beyblade, ramming it back a few inches. I looked up, the grin still in place.

"Come on Rei, is that all you can do?" He smiled back before his eyes locked back on the battle. In a matter of seconds, Draciel was being shoved back harshly by Driger. I beamed when Draciel pushed back just as fiercely, forcing Driger to the rim of the bey-dish. This pattern when on for a while before Rei became serious, Driger leaping into action and darting out of the way just as I was about to push him off the rim, resulting in Draciel taking the fall instead. I sighed as the battle ended, that was third time I had lost to Rei using the same move.

I smiled despite that, walking over to Rei as he handed Draciel back to me.

"Thanks." He nodded, smiling back before turning away and walking over to Kenny. I looked down at Draciel, confusion evident in my cerulean eyes. Why do I keep losing? Did I need to rethink my battle plan, or was I just rushing in too early? A smile quickly formed, looking up abruptly. I looked around the room, maybe I could get one of them to help me. My eyes nearly kept going when they connected with amethyst ones, but froze when realization finally hit.

There was only one person that I knew had eyes like those, and if I was correct, I was currently staring at-

"Kai, who did you pick to battle tomorrow?" Everything in the room seemed to freeze, even I lost in time as Kai smoothly replied.

"I haven't yet, but I'm going to right now…" Everyone stared at him as he leaned against the wall, eyes closed and shoulders relaxed.

"Well," my head turned to Tyson, who was looking rather curious himself. "how are you going to do it?"

"I'm testing all of you." Everyone watched as he spoke, waiting for the challenge. "You will be put p together randomly, and I'll watch you as you battle. At the end, I'll decide from there…" There was small snicker coming from my left.

"Wow, Kai, that must've been the most you've said since you got here." Kai's eyes opened again, fixated themselves on Tyson as he narrowed his eyes slightly.

"I wouldn't be joking right now, Tyson. You've been pretty sloppy with your battle strategies since we got here." There was soft pink tint on Tyson's face as he smiled nervously.

"Yeah, well, I've been sort of busy." I looked towards Kenny as he opened his mouth.

"Busy with what, Hilary?" Like clockwork, Tyson's face lit, similar to Hilary's. I grinned stepping in as I held up my hands.

"Whoa guys, calm down, we should really take this seriously." I turned toward Kai, hands still held up as my curiosity got the better of me.

"How will we be paired up to battle?" Kai's eyes averted to mine, staying there for a while before he closed them.

"I'll pick them. Tyson," he stopped looking at Dragoon, an anxious expression wiping over him. "You'll fight against-" A door opening sounded through the cabin, stopping Kai in mid sentence and leaving everyone else to wonder who it was.

"Tyson! Where are you, I want my rematch!" the corners of my mouth pulled up as I dashed off toward the door, not noticing the strange looks everyone gave me as I did.

"Daichi!" As I ran into the living room, the first thing I saw was I lot of red hair and a short boy. He looked at me suddenly his green orbs locking with mine before I pounced, bringing us both down. A giggle escaped my lips as I hugged him tightly, ignoring the uncomfortable-ness of the wood floor.

"Max," he struggled to get out of my grip, a small strained chuckle coming from him. "I can't breathe." I smiled before releasing him, standing up before I extended my hand to him, pulling him up. He opened his mouth, but was cut off when the thump of everyone's feet hitting the floor rang through the cabin.

"Max, what happen-" Hilary stopped mid sentence, seeing Daichi's hair messed up more than usual, she could already tell what had happened. Tyson snickered, shaking his head at my actions.

"One second your telling everyone that they should take this more seriously, and the next you glomp the next person who comes through the door?" I grinned sheepishly, rubbing the back of my neck.

"Yeah, well, I figured that Daichi was feeling kind of lonely on the trip here by himself, so I wanted to greet him kindly." Everyone laughed, excluding Kai of course, laughter the only thing filling the room for a while.

"Tyson, you'll be fighting against Daichi." The laughter died down at the abrupt statement, but no one thought to question him on it.

"Yes! Gear up, Tyson, because this be a battle you won't forget for a long time." Tyson smirked, determination pooling into his hazel orbs.

"Careful there, Daichi, this battle determines who's in the competition, are you sure you're ready?" Daichi ushered everyone into the training area as he followed Tyson, beyblades already positioned on their launchers as they started.

_Kia's P.O.V._

The battle between them started, their blades quickly taking action as they banged into the other. I wasn't surprised when the battle ended in a draw, both blades hitting each other once more before flying back into their owners' hands from the impact.

They both looked toward me expectantly; obviously awaiting my decision of which one of them it was going to be that would participate in tomorrow's battle.

"Later…" The two huffed, crossing their arms like children before sticking their tongues out at one another. I shook my head, sighing inwardly. This was going to be one long trip with these two.

"Stop acting like a child, Tyson." His hazel eyes rolled, sticking his tongue out again.

"Quite nagging me, Hilary. Don't you get enough of that when we're at home?" there was a huff of anger somewhere in the room, which I suspected came from the brunette.

"Oh, Tyson's you better stop talking back to her, your girlfriend seems to be getting mad," came Daichi's smug reply.

"Be quiet, both of you!"

"Max, Rei," I had enough of their constant bickering. "You two will battle. Now." Max nodded quickly, a small smile gracing his lips as he rushed to his side of the bey-dish, Draciel already ready to be launched. Rei walked over calmly, he, too, with Driger already positioned.

"Three, two, one. Let it rip!" Their blades flew at one another, and I could see the seriousness and determination in Max's azure eyes.

"Go, Draciel!" My eyes strayed on Max longer than normal, flash's of Amare's smug smile as he told me that I couldn't protect him forever. I knew exactly what he meant when he said this, but I wasn't about to tell Max because he thought I couldn't protect him. I could feel my anger rising considerably with every second I spent thinking about him. My eyes wandered over to Rei, watching as he stood, calmly observing the battle as well as keeping up his focus.

I looked down at the beyblades, narrowing my eyes when I saw Max leaving himself open for three seconds, three seconds too much. Rei's cat eyes saw it in an instant, pouncing immediately. In a matter of seconds, Draciel was sent flying back into the rim of the bey-dish, bouncing off and hitting the floor with a clank. I looked up at Max, who looked confused about where he went wrong. His shoulders were slumped as he retrieved his blade, the amusement that was usually so easily found in his blue orbs was gone.

I closed my eyes, thinking over the battles that I just witnessed finally coming to my conclusion.

"Tyson, Daichi," I looked over at Max, who met my gaze for about two seconds before looking down, his eyes sad, he already knew the outcome. "and Rei. You three will participate in tomorrow's battle, be ready, Daichi, I trust you were training with how long it took you to actually get here." He nodded quickly, afraid of my reaction, and my tone. I nodded, walking out of the room; I was no longer needed here anyway.

_Max's P.O.V._

I trudged to my room, shoulders slumped, head down, smile gone. I couldn't believe I had lost to Rei, again! What was wrong with my tactics? Was I becoming too predictable? When I made it to my room the first thing I did was take a seat on my bed, staring off into space. I looked down at Draciel, sighing as I rubbed him with my thumb.

"I'm sorry, buddy, I let you get taken down so many times today…" My eyes widened, a tinge of pink stinging my face as my stomach growled, loudly. I chuckled, my smile finally coming back. "Well, I can't really figure out what the problem is on an empty stomach now, can I?" I hopped up, practically skipping to my door before entering the hall. I walked lightly, making sure that my feet only lightly padded against the floor. I grinned, just imagining the taste of all the things I could eat right now. I just about turned the corner when,

"I can't believe Kai, he totally didn't pick Max because he was being a jerk!" Tyson, no doubt.

"Calm down, Tyson, I'm sure he had a good reason-"

"Yeah, Rei, he thinks Max is weak just because he's nice!" My heart raced, did he really think about me that way. My body was doing its own thing, pressing itself against the wall to stay hidden. Tyson huffed before he walked away, Rei next to him every step of the way.

My eyes were wide, almost in a frantic way. What he said couldn't be true, could I? Did Kai really think of me as weak? I dart to the room again, not caring if I'm loud as I do so. The door slams shut behind me as I try and control my breathing once I'm sitting on my bed. I'm clutching my chest with my hand, feeling my heart hammer against it. No, Tyson was just being Tyson. Jumping to conclusions was just the way he was, but was there some truth behind what he was saying? My thoughts ran wild, no longer able to control them.

I became panicked as I stood up swiftly, hoping to me feet and sprinting to the door. I needed to set things straight. I ran down the hall, just trying to find the one person who could set everything straight. The one person who could unscramble all of my thoughts on the matter… I burst into the living room, Kai sitting on the couch as he relaxed. He slowly looked up at me, his eyes showing no possible emotions that he might be feeling upon my sudden arrival. Before he could even speak, if he was even going to, I was already doing it.

"Kai, is it true?" He looked at me, and for the first time I saw a spark of curiosity in his amethyst eyes. "Do you think I'm weak, is that why you didn't pick me to battle tomorrow?" his eyes remain on me before he moves them back to the book in his hands, staying silent as he reads through. Seeing as he continued to read, I took this as he wasn't about to answer me anytime soon, but as soon as I opened my mouth he responded.

"Don't worry about that, Max. Go get some rest, it's late and tomorrow is important." I glared, or at least tried to, but I'm pretty sure I failed by the way he raised his eyebrow at my expression. I opened my mouth, but he shook his head and broke eye contact, looking back at his book. "Get some rest, Max. you still need to be at your best." I looked down, no longer attempting to glare any longer as I turned away, my feet moving back to the room.

"Why should I," I mumbled, my eyes darker than usual I was sure. "it's not like I'm participating in the battles anyway." With that, I took my leave, not even daring to look back at his expression from my mood.

_Kai's P.O.V._

I watched as he walked away slowly, looking down the whole time. Something must have happened, because that wasn't the typical optimistic blond I, and everyone else, was used to seeing. I sighed silently, looking back at my book. It would just have to wait until tomorrow; I had more important things to worry about right now. These mysterious teams, who we still had no idea who they were, were going to be battling us tomorrow afternoon.

I closed my book, rubbing my temples as I stood up, walking slowly to my room. When I opened the door, I could see Max under the blanket, his breathing evened out. I smoothly made my way to my bed, following Max in suit as I lied down, darkness soon taking over as my breathing evened out as well.

_Max's P.O.V._

We walked into the huge building, Tyson and I looking at everything as we did. The lobby was full of people that I didn't recognize as we made our way to the receptionist. She smiled warmly, pointing in the direction of the rooms we would be staying in until the battles actually began. I smiled thanking her and following everyone as we all walked to our said room.

After putting our belongings inside of our rooms, Tyson came into mine, along with Rei Hilary and Daichi.

"Hey, Maxie, how're you doing? I feel like I haven't talked to you in ages." I smiled at Hilary, nodding.

"Yeah, me too. I'm doing great." This is how conversation went on from there, pretty simple, easy to answer.

I looked over at the clock to my left, fidgeting in my seat as I did. I would only have a few hours left here, and this place was huge, so maybe I could do a little exploring before the battles actually started. I looked back at Tyson, a smile on my face.

"If you guys don't mind, I'm going to go check out more in this building, it's awesome!" Everyone laughed as I stood up, walking slowly to the door.

"You guys can stay in here while I'm gone, I don't mind." They nodded, too engrossed in their own conversation that they didn't even really comprehend what I had said. Walking out, I shut the door behind me, nothing but exploring on my mind.

"Man, this place is huge." I mumbled as I took my first five steps down the hall, turning a random corner. I passed the receptionist desk, trying to block out the conversations going on between them. I was shoved around a bit as I made my way passed the, but nothing too harsh. "Are all of these people here really here just to see the battle?" I looked around a I stopped walking momentarily, coming to the conclusion that they were all probably here for other things as well. Judging on how big the building was, I figured it was probably the main building in Russia that dealt with anything beyblade related.

I continued to walk again, gazing around everywhere as I did. This place was huge, hundreds of rooms in every hall, as well as a huge battle arena. I beamed. This was my kind of place! I looked at the giant clock on the wall; it wouldn't be too bad seeing just a little more before I went back, right? I grinned, walking a little further down a seemingly normal hallway. There was one door that caught my eyes in particular, but maybe it was just the golden words on it. Before I could read it, though, my eyes were being draw to the room across from it.

I walked toward it slowly, the window allowing me to see inside. On the other side of the glass was an empty arena, just like the one I had passed earlier.

"Awesome!" My hand immediately flew to the handle, jiggling it to make sure it was open. To my luck, it was, and I quickly opened the door and walked inside. Just like from the view of the window, it was empty, huge, and definitely an arena. "This place is great; I wish we had one of these back at home…" I walked to one of the bey-dishes, running my hand along the edges. It was smooth, just as it looked, but I could see the deep starches on its surface.

It looked as if it was polished, and I wouldn't put it passed them if it was. I looked at my watch, getting ready to turn around, it was about time I got back already.

"Maxie? What are you doing here?" I froze, that voice all too familiar to me now. I turned around quickly, my face already becoming red as a blush crept its way from my ears to my cheeks. The first thing my azure eyes landed on was something spiky and black, hair, no doubt. My cerulean orbs met auburn ones, only after seeing a small smile on their face. "Maxie, funny seeing you here." My face flared even more, and I was definitely convinced that I knew who it was. A soft chuckle echoed through the arena, ringing in my ears.

My brain struggled to form the right words as my lips moved on their own.

"Amare…" The soft mumble of his name slipped off my tongue before I could stop it, only staring at each other as he smiled and I looked upon him in shock.

Well I guess that settles it, I was definitely going to be late now...

_Hope you enjoyed this chapter, this is the quickest update I've ever done before, so please R&R! Any suggestions are welcome if you have any!_


	8. Chapter 7

_I'm on a role this week, but before I start this chapter I would like to give a shout out to Nazrita who is constantly reviewing every chapter that I have posted! Okay, on with the story ;P_

_Kai's P.O.V._

I leaned against the wall of the room that was given to me. It wasn't big, but it wasn't small either, but I didn't care, I wasn't like I was going to be staying here that long anyway. The clock on the night stand beeped, my eyes finding their way over to it as I silenced it. Pushing myself off of the wall, I made my way to the door, grasping the handle before pulling it open. The hallway wasn't as crowded as that main lobby, and for that I was grateful.

"Tyson put that down, you'll break it!" Hilary's familiar screech rang through the hall, gaining my attention. With each stride I took, the noises from the room became clearer.

"Chill out Hilary, you're always such a nag!" That was all I needed to hear as I pulled the door open, freezing everyone in the room as I did so. My eyes connected with Rei's as he smiled, chuckling slightly at the position of Hilary and Tyson. Following Rei's gaze, I nearly shook my head as I saw Hilary's elevated hand ready to strike Tyson as he coward behind Daichi. Amethyst eyes sweeping over the room, I visibly tensed. Someone was missing. I looked back at Rei, my eyes narrowing slightly.

"Where's Max?" Rei shrugged, looking at Tyson.

"I just got here not too long ago, ask them." I locked eyes with Tyson, glaring harder.

"Well?" I growled out, seeing him jump in surprise. He coward behind Daichi further, trying to escape the look I was giving.

"I don't know exactly, he said that he was just going to go look around for a bit." I growled in annoyance, turning and reaching toward the door. What was with Max and always wanting to _explore_ in paces he didn't know?

"Wait!" I turned my head slightly, watching as Tyson scrambled out from behind the redhead and now stood behind me.

"I'm coming with you." I turned my head, carrying on with trying to reach the door without being interrupted again.

"No, you're not." I could just imagine the type f trouble he would get into if I let him look for Max.

"Why not," he whined, obviously not picking up on my current anger already. Either that or he was completely ignoring it; I wouldn't put it passed him. I stopped again, my eyes closing in frustration

"Between you and Max, Max is the responsible one, but with you he gets into more trouble. I'm not going to pay for the damage you two could cause together in a huge building because you want to be irresponsible." With that, I continued to walk, finally opening the door and walking out into the hall. I sighed, ten minutes now and only five minutes to try and find the blond in this huge building. I looked around first, trying to decide which way he would have gone.

My feet moved on their own as they lead me down a hall, turning a random corner. I looked around as I finally stopped walking noticing that receptionist as she smiled and directed people to their wanted destinations. I wandered around there for a few seconds, trying to see if I could find blond hair anywhere in the crowd. Seeing as he wasn't there, I carried on with my search, soon spotting an empty battle arena. I sighed, speeding up and turning down another corner, finding this hall deserted except for a few rooms.

I passed by a door with golden letters, to occupied with finding Max to actually read them. My ears twitched slightly at the sound of muffled voices, my feet leading me to the sounds. I ended up in front of the door in front of the door with the golden inscription, the small window allowing me to see inside. The first thing my eyes landed on was smooth golden locks, belonging to a blue eyes boy as he stood there. My hand reached toward the handle, pausing when I heard something that wasn't Max's voice.

"Maxie, it's nice to see you again." I watched as his face adapted a red look to it as he smiled embarrassedly.

"Yeah, you too, Amare." My muscles tense, a scowl making its way onto my face as I growled lowly. Leave it to Max to find the one person who in this huge building that I wished was gone. The black haired boy chuckled, walking closer to Max and finally coming into my view.

"You're so cute when you blush." His hand reached up, poking Max's cheek gently before bringing it back down, invoking another blush from him. "Do you dye your hair?" He reached up, grabbing a lock and twisting it in his finger slowly, Max just standing there in shock as his face was getting redder by the minute.

"N-No." He smiled, still twirling the golden strand.

"Oh, it looks nice." His hand went up to the top his head, which I assumed was to scrape against his scalp and run through his hair. I growled, my hand finally recovering from its immobility and pulling open the door, walking in quickly. The door slammed shut behind me, causing Max to jump and dart his head in my direction.

"Ka- Kai?" Amare turned toward me, a grin on his face as he did. He didn't even bother removing his hand from his hair when he met my gaze.

"Oh, Kai, nice to meet you again." I growled under my breath, not wanting to make Max wonder what was going on. Besides, Amare's hand was still entangled in Max's locks, not looking like they were ready to release them anytime soon.

"Yeah." My eyes went to Max, trying to block out the way Amare's hand continued twirling. "Max, let's go, we're going to be late." He nodded, looking back at Amare, who met his gaze, before his hand reluctantly disentangle from his curls.

"He's right; you should probably get going already." Max nodded, still standing there, though.

"Why are you here though?" Amare's face became teasing as he pet his head in fondness.

"Why, you worried about me?" Max flushed, looking down in embarrassment as he answered.

"No, I was just wondering…" He chortled, his hand drawing back as he stepped backward.

"I guess you'll just have to wait and see now, won't you?" He smiled softly before he turned to leave, but he stopped and looked at me. "Actually before I leave, I'd like to talk to Kai for a bit." Max nodded slightly, absently rubbing the spot on his head that Amare had pet not too long ago.

"O-okay." He looked at me, as if waiting for my approval before scurrying off, and as the door opened I took note of the time on the clock. Seven more minutes until I had to go. I looked into his brown eyes, my glare hardening as soon as I did.

"What do you want?" He laughed quietly, shaking his head at my angered reaction.

"I just thought I should tell you that I won't hurt him. Hurting people was never really my thing. Besides, who can bring harm to such an adorable face like his?" I growled in annoyance, his complimenting on Max's adorableness was getting under my skin. Max was just Max, not adorable or cute, just _Max_. He walked passed me, purposely bumping into my shoulder. I turned and watched him go, a growl emitting from me as he reached the door.

"Keep your hands to yourself next time." He laughed softly, apparently finding this amusing as he turned.

"How could I, he's just so lovable, I couldn't resist." He continued walking, opening the door. "I might just stick around a little longer, just for him." Before I could snap at him for saying it, he was gone, turning down the hall as his black boots thumped against the tile. I quietly walked out of the room, with two minutes left it was best to leave now.

I sauntered down the hall, back tracking all the way to the lobby before I was greeted by a slam on my chest. I looked down slightly, seeing nothing but golden tresses blocking my view. The blond looked up, his face going blank as his eyes widened.

"I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean to do it, Ka-" I stopped him mid sentence, my hands going to his shoulders and straightening him out before I released him, waiting as he regained his composure.

"Max, are you okay? I didn't mean to bump into you like that." Max looked in the direction of the voice, smiling and nodding before he replied.

"Yeah, I'm fine; I just didn't expect you to push me like that." My eyes narrowed as I turned my gaze to Tyson.

"Do you see what I mean about your irresponsibleness?" He chuckled, nodding faintly before going to Hilary and Daichi.

I looked at all of them, somewhat relieved that they were all finally in one place.

"It's time to go to the battle, so let's go already." Everyone nodded, following me as I went up to the receptionist.

"Where is the arena that we'll be battling in?" She smiled, looking down at the computer in front of her and typing quickly before looking back up at me.

"Battle arena four."

"Hn." I walked away, watching from the corner of my eye as Max smiled and thanked her for her help. What Amare had said to me earlier was ringing in my head as I walked, stealing glances every now and again at Max. I watched as he laughed with Tyson, earning an angry reaction from Hilary as she stomped her foot. Max shrugged innocently, his smile wider as he chuckled at her reaction under his breath. Now that I thought about it, Max did sort of have an innocent look to him, but didn't he always? His laughter died down as his smile stayed in place. In some ways, he looked like a puppy, and he did give off the vibe that he needed to be protected.

I growled in annoyance, the blond had been the center of my thoughts for far too long already. Just the fact that thinking about Amare somehow led to me thinking about Max was a problem. It wasn't long before we reached the door to the arena, and it certainly wasn't long for Tyson and Daichi to dash in front of me and pull open the door, scurrying inside like little mice. I sat down on one of the seats, closing my eyes as I ignored the noise around.

The seat next to me shifted, causing my eyes to immediately snap open, seeing Max jump a bit in surprise as I did.

"Kai, I'm sorry for what I did yesterday…" I looked up at him, shrugging as I closed my eyes again.

"Hn." He seemed astonished by my answer, as I could practically feel him gaping at me.

"Ka-"

"Leave it alone, Max, the past is the past. You can't change it, no matter how hard you try… You just have to live with it and learn to forget." He nodded slowly, obviously taking in everything I had just said.

"Okay…"

"Daichi, Tyson, put that down!" _Crash!_ My eye twitched in annoyance, and when Max chuckled softly, my eyes went to his. He as soon as I looked toward him, he smiled, his head tilting slightly as he tried to hold it in. My gaze was drawn to his smile, staying there as thoughts flooded through my head.

"_Besides, who can bring harm to such an adorable face like his?"_

"_He's just so lovable, I couldn't resist."_ A scowl made its way onto my face, turning away before Max had the chance to see it. My attention was drawn to the front of the room as the door cracked open, three silhouettes walking in. The first figure that I was able to see was a girl, her dark brown hair going to her waist as her long bangs on the side of her face were highlighted a much lighter brown. Her eyes were a dark brown, almost black. Her gaze locked with mine, and it didn't look like she was here for a friendly chat. The second one that came into view, a boy, had lighter eyes, giving off a slightly friendlier look. His hair was short, a light brown and somewhat messy. The last one that walked in was another girl, her glasses shining as the light in the room hit them. Her eyes were a blue violet color, black hair smooth and going straight to her shoulders.

The first one walked up to me calmly, nothing about her anything but serious. She stopped in front of me, looking at Max with a raised eyebrow.

"_You're _the competition?" I growled lowly, already finding myself annoyed. There was a bark of "Hey!" before Tyson stepped in front of max, his eyes narrowed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She chuckled, finding Tyson acting in a defensive manner amusing.

"I was just stating that your team looks… uniquely put together…" Max's face fell, no longer smiling in a happy manner. I stood up, glaring intently at her.

"That's enough, we came here to battle, not talk." She nodded, a smirk on her face.

"I'm Nita, the other girl is Rina," she pointed to the girl with the glasses, then at the boy. "He's Alec, and you must be Kai." I nodded, my eyes hardening. Alec turned his gaze on Max, smiling when their eyes connected.

"Hey, don't worry about her too much, she's always grouchy when a team member is late." Max grinned softly, nodding as he looked at Tyson.

"Thanks for defending me Tyson." He turned his brown eyes on Max, a sheepish smile on his face.

"No problem buddy, no one talks that way about my member and gets away with it." I stared at him, my eye brow raising, a small smirk on my face,

"You didn't exactly do anything to help him, not that he needed it anyway. Max is more than capable of handling himself." We didn't have any more time to discuss the matters; the match should've started a minute ago. I looked toward Nita, my gaze still hard as my smirk became a thin line.

"Let's get this over with already, we're just wasting time." She smirked nodding.

"Finally, someone sees things my way."

_Max's P.O.V._

I cheered on Tyson as he battled Nita, both equally serious. Their blades both slammed into each other roughly, throwing each other back. Nita smirked, her eyes gleaming.

"Go, Thunder Fox!" Her blade spun wildly next to Tyson's, a bright light emitting from it before a huge fox appeared, its fur resembling electricity. Tyson's eyes widened as he watched as the Fox towered over him. A smirk crawled its way onto his face, looking Nita in the eyes.

"Two can play at this game! Go, Dragoon!" My attention was drawn from the battle as a familiar creaking noise echoed in the room full of people. Everyone had seemed to pile in right before the battle started, making Tyson and Daichi's egos to explode. I looked over at the doors, watching as light flooded in from the hallway to reveal a tall figure. Kai must've seen my attention on something else, because he soon followed my gaze to the door. My eyes swept over the person standing there, their red shirt was covered by a black jacket, their black boots hitting the floor almost soundlessly in the thunderous room.

Maybe he felt someone staring at him, or maybe it was just by chance, but his auburn eyes made their way to my azure ones, freezing me on the spot. His hand reached up, running through his black disheveled hair, a warm smile on his face.

"Maxie!" I couldn't hear him of course, but I could still see his lips form my nick name, blush immediately creeping up my ears and spilling over my cheeks. There was a small growl on my left, but I was too shocked to check. He slowly made his way to where I was seated, his smile growing wider with each stride. Finally, with one last step, he stopped in front of me. "Maxie, I just keep running into you today, I'm glad I got to see you again!"The growl came again, but this time I looked to my left, noticing Kai staring at Amare, his lip pulled back in a snarl.

I titled my head, looking at him with concern.

"Kai?" He barely looked at me when I spoke his name, but he stopped snarling, although I could still hear faint growls coming from his throat "Kai, are you o-"

"Whoo hooo, yeah, Dragoon, that's how you did it!" The crowd went wild, and my eyes immediately went back to the match staying there long enough to realize that Dragoon and Tyson were gaining on Nita and Thunder Fox. Somehow, Nita pushed forward ordering thunder Fox to do one last attack.

"Go, Thunder Clasp!" Before anyone could blink, a loud bang erupted in the room, the ground shaking. The seat seemed to shift beneath me, and somehow I ended up crashing into something, or better yet, some_one_.

"Are you alright?" I looked up, amethyst eyes staring down at me as I did. My face flushed as I tried to form words with my mouth, I wasn't succeeding. It wasn't until I realized that I had my arms around him that my brain started working again, my feet quickly scrambling away as I tried to balance myself.

"S-Sorry Kai." He nodded, looking back at the match with narrowed as. I looked back as well, all flustered feelings gone for now. Dragoon was struggling to hold Thunder Fox down, both bit beasts sneering at each other.

"Come on Tyson, you can do it!" Amare looked at the battle too, his eyes serious as he turned.

"Nita, give it everything you've got!" My eyes slowly found his, my mouth open faintly. Then it hit me, he was the late member…

Well, this wouldn't do anything to our friendship, right?

_Well, this chapter certainly took a turn in another direction. This is not what I pictured for this one, not even close, my fingers just seemed to be typing on their own. Please tell me if you're displease with this chapter, I somewhat am. But please, read and review, because I sort of need a little more motivation to want to continue. And again, thank you __**Nazrita**__ for constantly reviewing and giving me the strength to actually type this thing up and allow my story to go on…. Wow, that sounded really dramatic, didn't it? I guess that's what happens when you go to a performing arts school. Oh well, hope you enjoyed! ;P_


	9. Chapter 8

_Okay, here's the next chapter! There's really no excuse as to why my updates are so whacky, I'm just too lazy. Anyway, enjoy!_

The team stayed silent, nothing but the tap of his shoes hitting the floor as he paced back in forth echoing throughout the small room. Everyone's head hung low, somewhat ashamed for what they hadn't even intentionally done. The blond sitting on a chair timidly looked up, his sapphire ors locking with amethyst ones before the contact was broken as he looked down again. Seeing as he wasn't going to get an answer to his previous question to the now silent group, the owner of the amethyst-like eyes continued talking.

"That was pitiful." The bluenette in front of him on the bed flinched slightly, along with the short red headed boy, as they were reminded of what took place only minutes ago. "You might have not lost to them, but if you two don't _think_ about what you're doing in the arena, there'll be no battle to win." Kai paused for a moment, his eyes seeping over his team as they avoided eye contact altogether.

"Rei is the only one who actually won his battle, he can't hold up the weight of this team. You all need to pick up the slack and carry your own weight if you want to win." It was then that the hazel eyed boy in front of him decided to speak.

"We just weren't expecting them to be so good, we'll do better next time-"

"There'll be no 'next time' if you don't learn not to underestimate your opponents, Tyson." Hearing his name, he looked up, finally meeting the stern eyes of his leader. "You two think that just because you won the championship that you are invincible." Kai's eyes narrowed, adding emphasis to the point he was trying to make. "Keep thinking like that, and you two will no longer have a title to defend." A small smirk crawled onto Tyson's face as he looked up cockily.

"You know, Kai, that was about the most you've ever said to me throughout two years." Max looked up, finally deeming the situation as 'safe.' His eyes quickly wandered to Kai, fixating on the ghost of a smirk on his leaders face. A speaker turning on sounded through the room, gaining everyone's attention.

"_All participants that were once in Battle Arena 4, please move to Battle Arena 3 and prepare to continue the battle in two minutes. I repeat, all participants that were once in Battle Arena 4, please move to Battle Arena 3 and prepare to continue the battle in two minutes."_Everyone watched as Kai looked toward Tyson and Daichi, a look of approval crossing over his features.

"Just get out there and defend your titles, if you don't win you won't have anything to brag about when you get back home. " Everyone watched in amazement at the fact that Kai was actually being friendly to Tyson. "If you go home sulking then you'll eat everything in sight, more than usual." Max nodded, finally understanding as a smile etched its way onto his face.

_Max's P.O.V._

We made our way down the hallway, but Tyson and I were together, so we obviously weren't quiet. Every time Tyson would make a joke, I would end up laughing uncontrollably, only to have Hilary pull Tyson by the ear for causing a ruckus. I smiled as I stood behind Tyson, currently rubbing his shoulders in a coach-like way.

"Are you ready for?" He grinned nodding vigorously. "When you go in there you've got to show the other team that you mean business and you're not some joke! So I ask again, are you ready for this?" I made my voice deeper, raising it in volume with each word that passed through my lips. I watched as Tyson grinned ear to ear, thrusting his fist into the air enthusiastically.

"Yeah!" The action caused everyone to laugh, and I felt my eyes slowly sliding over to where Kai was walking slowly, though somehow still keeping up with us. He had a small smile on his face as he shook his head, leaving me to stare in confusion. Usually Tyson and my little childish acts would get us a pair of narrowed eyes, never an amused smile. My thoughts were caught off when light flashed into my eyes, blinding me momentarily.

When my eyes were finally used to the lighting, the first thing I saw was a girl standing in front of me, her dark eyes narrowed.

"This team is unbelievable, showing up late, really?" Daichi growled lowly, pushing passed Rei and Hilary to make his way to the front of the group, and in front of the grouchy teen.

"Says the one who's teammate was late to the first round!" The fiery red head pointed an accusing finger in her face, his emerald eyes blazing. Her gaze was directed at Daichi as she grumbled, turning as she stormed off toward her team.

"Just get ready, Shorty." My head cocked to the side as I watched her stomp off. It may have seemed childish to think, but she probably just needed a nap. I mean, even _Kai_ looks a little stressed out about the battle. Not wasting any more time, we made our way to the bench area, watching as Tyson climbed the steps to the giant metal bey-dish before him. Nita met him on the top, each shaking hands before going to their respective spots on either side of the dish, getting into battle position.

The distinctive call of the countdown emitting from the booth on top of everyone started the battle, both beyblades instantly hopping into action.

For thirty minutes, there was nothing but sparks and dust clouds, by now the bye-dish was almost falling apart, but I was sure that it would be fixed by the time Daichi had to battle.

"Thunder Fox, use Thunder Clasp, one more time!" Tyson's eyes narrowed a bit as he analyzed the exact way the attack began to form. Something flashed in his eyes as he smirked, looking up to Dragoon, who by now had manifested from his bit-chip.

"Dragoon, now! Victory Tornado! The winds picked up inside the arena, and I was practically struggling to stay planted in my seat.

Everyone watched intently as the winds spun into a tornado form, sucking up the electricity and becoming one. Tyson looked toward Nita, a smirk in place as he did.

"I'm no chump." With the last words said, Dragoon let out a fierce cry, the electrical charged tornado hurling towards Thunder Fox. The bitbeast shivered slightly, taking up a defensive stance as it readied itself for the collision of the attack with its body I had closed my eyes when dust kicked up, blinding me, but when I heard the crowd applauding, I forced them open.

A goofy grin passed over my face as Tyson held up his hand, grinning with his beyblade spinning and Dragoon standing proudly next to him. Involuntarily, my body worked on its own as I jumped up, my fists thrusting into the air like Tyson had earlier as I cheered.

"Yeah!" Hearing my voice, he looked toward me and smiled, giving me a thumbs up and his infamous wink that he was known for doing whenever he won. After calling back Dragoon to properly congratulate him, Tyson found his way over to Nita, a smile on his face.

"This isn't usually my thing, but you did well." She looked upon his outstretched hand, and for a moment Tyson thought she wasn't going to take it, until he finally felt pressure on his palm and a friendly squeeze. Looking up from their hands, he saw her smile.

"This isn't usually my thing either, but you deserved to win." The applauding audience became louder as they shook hands, smiling nicely toward one another.

"Tyson, come on, we a twelve minute break before Daichi's battle!" after hearing my frantic call, Tyson said his goodbye's to Nita before he, Daichi and I made our way to no place in particular.

"I'm telling you Tyson, this place is huge. I almost got lost just walking around!" My exclamation went unnoticed by him as he stared in a daze-like state before he turned to look at me.

"If this place is huge, then that means their food court must be _awesome_!" Before I could get a word in, him and Daichi were racing down the hall, each pulling one of my wrists. Throughout the whole expedition to get to the food court, they did nothing but fight. Tyson would make a comment on how much he would eat, and Daichi would come back with a comment that promised that he would eat three times that amount. It wasn't long before the two started glaring at each other, sprinting faster down the empty hallway.

"Hey, guys slow down, you might actually break me!"Of course, they didn't even hear me, so I was left to run along with them, my wrist sure to be sore by the time we actually made it to the food.

Finally, after four agonizing minute of being dragged up and down the pathway of the building, we made it to our destination. Of course, by now, my appetite was completely gone, leaving me waiting by the door as I rubbed my red wrists, waiting for Daichi and Tyson to seize raiding the poor man at the counter for all of his goods.

I lifted my red wrists to my eye level, racking my brain for something that would make the pain go away. The doors to the food court opened, but I paid no attention to it as I muttered yet another idea under my breath.

"Max?" My eyes snapped up, looking around for the owner of the voice, confused as to who it was. After three more seconds of me inspecting my surroundings, my eyes landed on someone's shoes, boots to be exact. I gulped slightly, looking up slowly until I could see the disheveled black hair and auburn eyes of Amare. I smiled sheepishly as I watched him walk closer to me, a strange look of worry in his eyes.

"Hi, Amare." He ignored my greeting, grabbing my wrists gently as he inspected.

"What happened to you, Maxie?" A blush crept its way onto my cheeks, making me look down embarrassedly. When I noticed he was still expecting an answer, I moved my eyes over to where Daichi and Tyson were stuffing food into their mouths, still ordering more. I snorted slightly, nodding in understanding.

"_Now_ I understand." He looked back at them one more time, giving them a skeptical look," Are you sure those two are actually _human_?" I laughed and nodded.

"They just really love their food... and a good competition." He heard me mumble the last part and smiled.

"Those two did seem like the competitive type." I watched as Amare became serious, his gaze back on me in a second. "Maxie, we really need to talk." I gulped, here comes the big talk about our teams…

_Rei's P.O.V._

"Hilary, come on, we need to go get the three of them before the battle starts." The brunette popped her head around the corner, nodding as she made her way toward me. I began to walk, noticing the way she happily trotted by my side. I looked away, but my attention was drawn back to her when she tapped me lightly on the shoulder.

"Can we get something to eat while we're there?" I cocked my head to the side, not understanding when she meant about when we got 'there.'

"What exactly _is_ 'there'?" Her expression changed into one of amusement.

"The food court, duh. Tyson was the one leading when they left, so it's only natural they'd go where the food is." I nodded, my mind wandering back to the challenge that Daichi was about to face. I took a left, then a right, finally spotting the mammoth- sized cafeteria.

Hilary wasted no time in pushing the doors open, entering without hesitance. Carefully and cautiously, I walked in, my eyes immediately landing on a pile of empty plates stacked up into piles on the center table. I sighed, slowly making my way toward them.

"I'm glad that we can still be friends then, Maxie!" Hearing the familiar pet name of my optimistic teammate, my gaze was instantly turned on the source.

"Y-yeah." As I heard Max stutter while trying to form the one word sentence, my eyebrow raised. Max was always a social person, but he was never this shy before. I inspected ever inch of him, my eyes narrowing in concentration.

"Maxie, I think your friends over there just ate everything in stock." Turning around, Max found none other than the cashier watching Tyson and Daichi with wide eyes, trying frantically to get their attention.

"Tyson! Put that spoon down!" I sighed, walking over to Max and placing a light hand on his shoulder. Feeling the pressure, he turned, staring at me with confused eyes. Finally, his brain seemed to catch up with everything that was happening, blushed, casting his gaze downward.

"H-Hi, Rei. This is Amare," he pointed timidly in the black haired boys direction. "I met him not too long ago." I nodded, glancing up and meeting Amare's eyes. Seeing as our eyes locked, he smiled softly, extending his hand out to me, but before I had the chance the chance, a buzz rang through the room.

"_All participants of the battle in Arena 4, please make your way there now for you final battle. I repeat, please make your way to Arena 4 for the final battle!"_

"Alright, Daichi, go show them who's boss!" Daichi's almost hysterical, but none the less confident, laugh emitted from behind them.

"Yeah!" Before anyone could react, Daichi had run passed us, pushing the doors open and barreling his way to the battle field. A smile enveloped Max's features as he chuckled quietly, turning to me and nodding before bidding farewell to Amare and following Daichi in suit. I turned, fully intending to tell Tyson to drop the food and go, but was met by a surprise as I was left staring into empty space. The sound of the doors hitting one another as they closed signaled that Tyson was gone, and _I_ was the one who needed to get going.

Slowly lifting my feet, I managed to reach the door, gripping the handle with just enough force to pull it open.

"Hey," The voice froze me, and by instinct, I turned to face the speaker. "Tell Kai I said hi." A soft smile pulled at the corners of his lips, but it wasn't at all reassuring to the way the air seemed to thicken with a sense of deceitfulness. Finally meeting his auburn colored eyes, I noticed the way amusement seemed to be pooling into them, leaving nothing but that and the mysterious glint that wasn't there just seconds ago. I figure it best not answer, instead facing the other way and pulling open the door once again. This time, there're interruptions, and I'm finally allowed to enter the emptiness of the hall.

The eeriness still filled the atmosphere as I found my way back to the Arena that , by now I was sure my team was waiting in.

_**.:Trip to Russia:.**_

_3__rd__ Person Omniscient (No One's P.O.V._)

The crowd was applauding, the short red head feeding off the energy as he slipped his rip cord into the launcher. He was ready for this, mentally and physically. If Rina thought she would beat him, she would be in for a big surprise. I small smirk began to form on the boy's features, the determination showing as he placed his beylade into position, spinning it until he heard the familiar click. Across from him was the girl with the blue, almost violet colored eyes. She held a small smile, but Daichi was smart enough to know that behind that smile wasn't just some innocent little girl.

Kai's words repeated in his head, his eyes narrowing as he recalled the scold he was, given just minutes ago. He was a champion, and he would go down as one. He would prove everyone who thought of him differently wrong, and he would finally prove his father right. Slowly, he lifted his arms, already in battle position. He didn't bother to look as the countdown began, before finally the battle had begun. Before the referee had even finished forming the one syllabled word that would start everything, both blades were sent flying through the air, colliding roughly with one another.

From his spot on the other side of the bey-dish, he could hear the voice of the only blond on his team. Sitting snugly on the bench, Max was staring intently at the scene before him. He had no doubt that Daichi wouldn't win. But he couldn't help the fact that Nita had probably given her team the same talk that Kai had, and Rina was just as prepared as Daichi. Max's brain was about ten seconds away before extreme confusion. If what're thought about Nita was right, then they would either tie again, or one of them would pull out as the victor, but who?

"This battle is intense, isn't it?" Jumping slightly, Max wasted noontime in finding out who had startled him. His azure eyes landed on auburn ones almost instantly, his face turning a slight red hue. Finding himself at a lose of words, he simply nodded, watching as the boy on front of him turned his attention to the way Daichi and Rina's battle raged on. His eyes seemed to be focused one Daichi as he spoke his next line. "It's confidence like that, that makes it hard to identify who will come out victorious in the end."

Max's face returned to its normal naturally tanned look, his eyes now serious as he thought.

"It's true..." Just like before, Max was snapped out of his thoughts, his eyes wandering to try and locate the one person who he knew had spoken. Before he could get said person in sight, Amare's voice was heard.

"Kai, nice to see you again." Following the disheveled haired boy's gaze, Max soon spotted the amethyst eyed leader. Crossing his arms over his chest, Kai made his way to the right of Max, taking a seat as his eyes swept over the bey-dish, narrowing his eyes as he did. It wasn't long before Max followed in suit, his thoughts one who was going to win invading his thoughts once again. "Maxie, I think you have something in your hair." before Max could look up and figure out what it was, he felt a warm hand being placed in his head, someone's fingertips scraping against his skull slightly.  
>It continued on for thirty more seconds until the hand drew back, chuckling heard from the person who was responsible. Max didn't have to look to know that it was Amare, because it definitely wasn't Kai. Smiling warmly, Amare held up what looked to be a broken piece of wall, leaving Max confused. He hadn't remembered any broken walls around the seemingly perfect building, so when did that find itself snuggled into his golden tresses?<p>

"T-Thanks." Max looked away, embarrassment setting in. Golden eyes watched the whole scene unfold. The way Amare's fingers brushing through Max's locks, the way Max blushed at the contact. The seething Kai next to them, willing himself not to look. Rei noticed it all, but when a loud bang erupted in the room, everyone's attention was captivated.

From any area in the room, you could clearly see the way Daichi's breath had come somewhat ragged as he force his body to keep standing. One more attack was called out by both battles as the blades spun toward each other at great velocity. It wasn't long before the two smashed together, kicking up dust clouds so think that a few of the members in the crowed and the teams were stuck coughing until it finally blew over.

If glistened closely, you could hear a blade spinning, scratching against the metal of the vey/0-dish as it did. That was only sound that echoed through the room as everyone waiting anxiously for the dust to clear up, finally allowing the revealing of the winner.

A smiled formed on the now victorious battler, the crowed going wild. Team mates jumped up and cheered, going as far as to sprint over and envelope said winner in a bone crushing hug.

Although, behind the cheering teams and ecstatic crowd, the team that wasn't cheering, the battler that was smiling, but a pained one. This person walked up to the others, hand extended, the same sad smile pulling at the corner of their lips.

"That battle was amazing..." The winner smiled, taking their battlers hand in their own and shaking.

"Yeah, it was!"

_Okay, I'm more satisfied with about the last two pages of this chapter than anything else. The middle is sort of... There's really no word right now to describe how I feel about that one. It's just interesting, the beginning isn't that bad, but the end still blows everything else out of the way and takes first place in my book. R&R, hope you enjoy it. I'll try and get another chapter up as soon as I can, possibly even tomorrow of everything goes smoothly and the way I plan. _


	10. Chapter 9

_Yay, I think this chapter is going to be great, but I don't know, it all depends on how well it progresses. Anyway, enjoy!_

Emerald eyes stared into violet ones, a smile on both faces.

"The battle was really close, but you should've known that I wouldn't go down that easily." The receiver nodded,

"I know, I just-"

"Daichi!" Before the short red head could finish twisting his body around, he was hoisted up. "We knew you would do it!" The green eyed boy laughed, taking the trophy from Hilary's hands before looking down at the two people carrying him. Blue and blond swayed around, making it obvious as to who it was that was responsible for his current elevation from the ground.

"I told you guys that I wouldn't lose." Behind them was their leader, watching as the scene unfolded.

"Hey, Kai." For a minute he thought about just ignoring them, but when his name was called again he unwillingly looked. His amethyst eyes met dark, almost black ones. "That was some of the best blading we've seen in about six months. Your team isn't as much of a joke as I thought." Crossing his arms over his chests, he looked toward his team once again.

"Hn." A smirk was etched onto Nita's face as she turned away, saluting him jokingly before she did.

"Bye, Maxie, congratulations on the team winning!" Kai found his eyes involuntarily shifting to the side, trying to find the source from which the sentence came. His eyes eventually landed on a flustered looking Max, narrowing when they did.

"Thanks, Amare, bye." A growl threatened to rip its way out of his throat as he watched the way Max smiled. His gaze averted to Amare, the conniving teen was becoming too much to handle, he knew no boundaries. A feather-like touch on his shoulder drew his attention away from the disheveled haired boy, his amethyst orbs meeting a matching set of golden ones.

"What," he snapped, watching as the neko-Jin silently smiled to himself.

"Amare said to tell you he said hello, any reason why he specifically named you?" Kai's eyes closed, breaking the contact with his and Rei's.

"This doesn't concern you." The black haired boy sighed quietly, deciding to stop now, seeing as though the team seemed to be making their way over to the two, Daichi now walking freely beside them.

"Come on," Tyson slung his arm around Max's shoulders, pulling him closer as he spoke. "It's about time we all got back to the rooms and had a party!" Daichi and Tyson's fists thrust into the air, leaving Max and the rest of the team to chuckle to themselves. Kai turned away from them, heading towards the exit as they followed in suit.

"No." Tyson halted, pulling Max to a dead stop along with him, the arm around his shoulder tightening slightly.

"'No' what?" Stopping, too, Kai turned his head to the side, just enough to look at the one, confused bluenette, and the now fidgeting blond. Max wasn't stupid, he knew the beginning of a fight when he saw one, and Tyson was definitely delivering the shot that would start the war.

"_'No'_ as in there will be no party. You're irresponsible enough without loud music and an audience; I can't imagine what you'd do with those two things." A frown broke out on Tyson's face as he pulled the freckle faced boy closer to him.

"Then Daichi, Max and I will just go exploring." Max could see the way Kai was controlling himself, turning around slowly as he sent a glare Tyson's way.

"No, last time you went on your famous expeditions, Max ended up lost, then he landed head first into me after he was pushed by _you_." He sent Tyson another glare, just to prove his point. Max blushed, mumbling an apology for the last one as he looked down. Kai couldn't help the way guilt seemed to gnaw at him when he saw Max blush with embarrassment. He wouldn't change his mind about the exploring, though.

Images of Amare running his fingers through Max's golden tresses flashed in his mind, his teeth grinding as he did. He wouldn't let that happen again, if he knew how to stop it, he would do anything. His eyes once again found their way to the blond before his hand reached up, massaging the bridge of his nose.

"Fine, you can have your party, just stay in the room." Max smiled cheekily, disregarding the fact that Tyson was bobbing his body up and down as he jumped childishly.

"Yes!" Kai didn't care, he needed to draw the line, because Amare didn't seem to know where it was. A smirk slowly formed on the short green eyed boy.

"Hey, Tyson," Hearing his name, the bluenette momentarily paused his jumping, his eyes immediately meeting Daichi's. "I'll race you to the room, but whoever loses has to clean up after the party." Tyson smiled cockily, swiftly taking on a sprinting position.

"You're on, I'll see you there." Looking down at his red wrists, Max quickly scrambled out of their way, not wanting to be dragged along. Before Daichi's could retort, Tyson was off, scrambling off toward the room, leaving the short red head to gasp and take his leave as well. No longer being able to see the two as they rounded a corner, Max turned a nervous glance toward Kai.

"Sorry, you know how Tyson can be when he wants something." Kai met his gaze, his eyes lingering there longer than needed. Sweeping over Max's face, his eyes narrowed in concentration. Amare's teasing about how cute and puppy-like Max's face were taking over his thoughts, taunting him to the point where he was sure he wanted to hit something. Seeing that the staring had caught Rei's attention, Kai broke the contact, looking down the hall to where a crash had just echoed.

Without much effort, he lifted his foot, heading back to his room, catching Max's attention as he heaved a small sigh of annoyance. Max quietly followed behind, his mind conjuring images of what had played out just moments ago. No matter how hard Max tried, he couldn't get his thoughts to lead away from his team leader. When he stood there, staring at him, he seemed almost frustrated in a way. Shaking his head, Max continued moving forward, trying hard not dwell on it any longer.

_Kai's P.O.V._

Everything around me was slowly morphing into burry, insignificant figures. I was fully aware of the way Max watched me as I silently walked, but I didn't allow myself to acknowledge him. I had been paying too much attention to him already, there was no need for me to keep do so now. He was slowly taking over my thoughts, and I wouldn't let it continue anymore. I was beginning to think of Max as someone who could be trusted, and no matter how true it was, it wasn't right.

Yelling was heard from the distance before a thump was heard, numerous thumps following after. I heaved a sighed; this had to be Tyson and Daichi acting like children. My head twisted as I heard Max speed his walking, his shoes making a familiar thumping sound as he did. We didn't have to walk far before someone came into view, Max's eyes immediately widening as we did. The man on the ground in front of us slowly turned, his eyes locking on Max before he pointed and accusing finger.

"_You_, you were with the red head and the blue haired boy when they ate all my food!" I could clearly see Rei smacking his forehead in disbelief, and it took more than I thought it would not to do the same. My eyes found their way over to Max, quickly noticing the redness that seemed to seep into his cheeks. He smiled sheepishly as his hand flew up to rub the back of his neck.

"Well, you see, about that, they really didn't mean to. They're just sort of like that when they get around food, and they're really competitive." The man turned to glare at Max with his brown eyes, his newly cut hair shining a bit.

"I don't care how sorry they are, they ate _everything_. There was barely anything left to feed the people who actually _pay_ to stay here!" My eyes narrowed involuntarily as his voice rose; I wasn't too fond of the way he was talking to Max either.

"But you have your food now, don't you?" His gaze was pulled off of Max and on to me, gulping when he saw my face.

"W-Well, yes, but there's no way I can make up for the profit I lost today with no to feed." I could see the look of confusion on Rei's face as the man spoke, even finding myself slightly curious as to what he meant.

"Profit? I thought the cafeteria was free." The man once again turned away from me and toward Rei, relief flooding into his eyes as he was finally allowed to look away from my gaze.

"It is, but I get paid on the amount of praise the visitors give me, but I tend not to get praised often when I don't have any food to feed the hungry people." Looking toward Max, I noticed the way he looked down, his shoulders slumping a little.

"I'm sorry, I should've stopped them when I saw what they were doing…" His sapphire eyes glistened, and I slowly found myself walking over to him and placing a hand on his shoulders, making sure to shoot the man a cold look.

"Good going, now you've made him cry." The food court manager flinched at my tone and quickly looked away, mumbling something incoherent before looking up at Max. His mouth opened, but soon found itself closed again as nothing passed his lips. I scoffed before turning back to Max, my expression calm.

"It's alright, Max, no one expects you to be able to control those two _idiots_." At the last word I cast a glance at the brown eyed man, my eyes narrowing before I looked back at the blond nearly centimeters away from me.

"But I-" without thinking, I grabbed his chin, turning his head toward me as he stopped mid-sentence.

"Max, let it go." At my demand he blinked, seeming shocked at the way I was handling him. "Now stop crying, I'll handle this." Seeing as he wasn't able to speak, he merely nodded, his eyes not leaving mine as he did.

"_The little blond sure is interesting, he reminds me of a puppy in some ways. Cute, sweet, innocent, he's everything someone could possibly want."_ I gripped his shoulder tighter before ripping my eyes away from his, quickly taking back my hand as I turned toward the man.

"Get up." Doing as I said, he shakily stood. "What's your name?" his eye shifted side to side, nervousness gnawing at him.

"Dean-"

"We're having a party in our rooms, there will be people there and you can give them food to make up for the food you weren't able to supply before." He nodded, following hesitantly behind me as I took my leave once again. Feeling a tug on my shoulder, I paused for about a millisecond, turning around only to meet a pair of azure colored eyes. Max looked at me with worry filled eyes.

"How do you know that a lot of people are going to be there?" I looked forward, a sigh escaping my lips as I could already hear music emitting from the corner we were headed in.

"This is Tyson and Daichi we're talking about. They're the two people who would do anything to get attention." Tyson's room door came into view, the music getting louder considerably. It didn't take long for me to reach the door, my hand grasping the handle gently. "They like the crowd."

Pulling the door open, I took note of the way Max', and the other two people accompanying us, eyes widened. Shaking, my head, I entered the dimly lit room where numerous people were blocking my way as they danced, Max, Rei, and Dean following closely behind me. Being pushed by someone who was recklessly moving around, I found Max pressed against me, soon becoming flustered. It didn't take long for me to realize that this night wouldn't end as easily as the passing ones had.

"Hey, Maxie!" Following the call of the blond next to me, my eyes quickly landed on a grinning Tyson. In his hand was a red cup, obviously something inside of it. "Come over here, this is awesome- Oof!" I raised an eyebrow in disbelief as I watched Daichi tackle Tyson, ending up on his back as Tyson nearly toppled over. The short red head's familiar laugh rang through my ears. I closed my eyes in annoyance, a migraine already starting to build in my head.

My hands reached up, rubbing my temples before I froze as someone's hand came in contact with my shoulder. Cracking one of my eyes open, I looked to my right, blond hair catching my attention.

"Kai, are you okay?" I closed my eyes again, resuming the temple rubbing. When I didn't answer, Max took the liberty to continue and fill in my part of the conversation himself. "It's alright, Kai, everyone has to calm down eventually." As I opened my eyes, I released a breath of air as my amethyst eyes connected with Max's.

Not even seconds later, the noise of glass shattering rang through the crowded room. Hearing this, I turned to Max with my eyebrow raised. Noticing my doubtful look, he smiled cheekily before chuckling nervously. "Someone probably just bumped into something, I'm sure it won't happen again-" Another shatter was heard behind us, then a thumping noise, and Max wasted no time in turning around to find out what it was. Following in suit, I saw the nightstand tipped over, the lamp lying lifeless next to it.

The blond in front of me turned slowly, rubbing his head as he once again let loose a nervous laugh.

"The night will end quickly?"

"Wooh! Alright, go, go, go!" The crowd began chanting, and once again Max looked at me with the same sheepish look on his face.

"I seriously doubt that…"My voice wasn't cold, but in a way I was being… somewhat relaxed, or playful, even. With the building headache, I still found myself looking toward Max as he laughed at my words. Slowly, I felt the corners of my mouth pulling up, forming a small smile as I looked upon the beaming blond.

_I have to end it there, but have to tell you, this chapter was the hardest I've ever had to do. I was stuck redoing it since I last updated. Anyway, finally it is here, and I missed school today so I figured I should try and bang it out. Hope you enjoy it; remember to R&R because they make me happy, motivate me and are deeply appreciated!_


	11. Chapter 10

_HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYONE! Okay, before I start I just want to say thank you to the people who have been reviewing and adding this story to their favorites/story alerts. Alright, on with the story!_

_Kai's P.O.V._

I slowly slid my pants on as I ran my hand through my wet hair. The shower I had just taken had not been any help with getting rid of the stress I was feeling now. At first, it did well at washing away the worries from that party in the neighboring room, but it didn't take long for the thoughts of the blond who was currently residing in my room to sink back in. I sighed, gripping the handle just inches away before I pulled open the door. Almost immediately my eyes found their way to the optimistic teenager sitting on my bed, his own eyes sliding to meet mine.

I found it hard to look away as I instructed him to take a shower, watching him as he made his way toward the door that I had just exited from. He stopped walking for momentarily, turning to look at me a sheepish expression.

"Kai, I-I don't have any of my clothes with me." He looked down, a blush lightly tinting his freckled cheeks. I slowly made my way to the nightstand with my clothes in it, grabbing the smallest shirt and pants that I owned. As I turned back around to face Max, I noticed the way his eyes followed me, only looking away when he caught sight of me watching.

"Here," I held out the clothes, watching him expectantly. "Just use these for now." He looked unsure of himself as he slowly took the clothes from my hands, mumbling a thank you before turning and entering the bathroom.

_Max's P.O.V._

It took me all but three minutes to strip off my clothing and set the water to a reasonable temperature. I swiftly stepped into the shower, the tension instantly draining from my exhausted body. In the moment of peace I took the time to tilt my head forward, enjoying the sensation that was provided when the water ran over my hair and down my neck. With my eyes still closed, I felt the tiled wall until my fingers wrapped around the shampoo, quickly allowing its contents to seep into my hair before I started to scrub.

A sigh escaped my parted lips as the strain in my shoulders subsided, giving me bliss. My thoughts played over the events of the night responsible for my current predicament. I felt the heat rising to my cheeks as I remembered how Kai had found me: sitting on the floor in the hall beside my room because there were already people inside of it and I wasn't going anywhere near the bed until it was cleaned. It was embarrassing now that I remember it, the way Kai looked at me with something akin to annoyance before he turned away, instructing me to follow.

I felt my shoulders droop as realization sunk in. There were obvious signs that Kai didn't actually want me here, his annoyance for me sitting out in the hall just getting the better of him. My head involuntarily tilted to the side in confusion as to how I managed to confuse _myself_ with my own thoughts. I shook the problem out of my head for now, trying to enjoy whatever relaxation the shower could provide. Feeling as though my time was up, I quietly stepped out of the tub, the air in the room cold to my wet skin.

I shivered slightly as I reached out to the towel sitting on the sink's counter, wiping myself down before I slipped on the clothes that Kai had lent to me. Kai was obviously more muscular than I was, seeing as though the shirt was baggy on me and it was clearly the smallest thing in his possession. The pants were no better, as they hung loosely around my waist, threatening to drop to my ankles if I made a wrong move.

My attention was drawn away from the clothes and to my still wet hair as I began to dry it, the shirt swaying with every little movement of my arms. I looked in the mirror, taking notice to the way that my locks seemed to stick out in all directions. I chuckled, beginning the process of brushing my teeth before I turned to the door, pulling it open with one easy jerk of my arm.

_Kai's P.O.V._

I could faintly hear the way Max's bare feet padded against the floor as he made his way over to the bed, my eyes never leaving him as he did. His movements were timid, almost like he was afraid of disturbing me. Max's discomfort with the clothes was evident with each step he took, and before I could stop myself a choked laugh made its way out of my mouth. Max looked over me curiously, a sheepish grin making its way onto his face as he gently rubbed his neck.

"I guess the clothes don't really fit me that well after all." I turned away from him, lying down on the makeshift bed that I had prepared as he showered. It finally seemed to dawn on him that one of us had to sleep on the floor, his gaze flickering back and forth between me and the sheets I had laid out next to the bed.

I didn't give him time to speak as I opened my mouth,

"Sleep on the bed, Max."

"But, Kai-" I threw the blanket over me, ignoring him.

"Just do it."

_Max's P.O.V._

I flinched at his command, deciding that now wasn't the time to be arguing with him. I slowly lifted my foot, making my way to the comforter, trying my best not to make any noises. My body seemed to sink into the cushion, enjoying the comfort that was provided. I quietly curled into a ball, my eye lids drifting shut. I was almost asleep when I remembered something, force my tired eyes to open again.

"Hey, Kai," my voice was groggy as I spoke, almost cracking in the middle.

"What?" Kai sounded just as tired as I did, maybe even more.

"Are we going back home now?" My tone was shakier than before, my grip on the sheets getting tighter.

"Yes." He stood up, turning off the light before he lied back down, turning away from me. I was left staring into the dark, my eyes wide. I knew we weren't staying here forever, but just the thought of leaving so soon had left me in a sudden state of shock.

I forced my eyes to close, the gentle rocking of my body nearly unnoticeable. With a sudden realization, I felt my eyes snapping open, my breathing coming out in shallow ragged breaths.

A shiver passed through me, making me curl up firmly. What would happen to Amare and his team? Would they be like everyone else we encountered, putting up s fierce fight only to disappear once the battle was over? I could remember the Saint Shields clearly, the fight they put up against us still fresh in my mind. Despite their best efforts though, we still beat them, and they still left.

I could picture Amare waving to me, the same way Kane and his team had, before leaving too. That was one of the things about beyblading, you were allowed to meet new people, just not allowed to hold onto them. Everything seemed to get more silent in the room as the thought occurred to me, a smile soon forming after a few passing seconds. I could remember meeting every member of my team like it was yesterday. Maybe being a blader didn't let you hang on to everyone you meet, but it let you keep the important ones.

My eyes eventually drifted shut, the darkness a blessing as it finally took me over.

_The blond looked around curiously, watching as everyone from his team turned to him, a smile etched across their features. Tyson was first to wave, leaving Max to watch in horror as his body faded with each passing second. It wasn't long before the bluenette was gone, and the rest of the members all followed in suit and began to disappear as well. Within a minute everyone was nearly gone, only two people remaining._

_Max's tear coated azure eyes fixated on the last two standing, a whimper making its way out of his mouth. The amethyst eyed boy slowly walked over to the heavily breathing teenager, his arms slowly bringing him in to give one final embrace. Max grasped him tightly, not willing to let him go, a drop of water slipping down when he realized the way Kai's feet slowly began to fade along with his legs. Kai carefully pried Max off of him, stepping back just enough to let a certain auburn eyed boy step up. He carefully twisted a strand of blond hair, a warm smile on his face. _

"_Goodbye, Maxie, it was nice knowing you." He stepped back, once again standing beside to the two tone haired teenager next to him, smiling in amusement as he earned a glare from him. Amare looked down at his hands, his smile no longer containing anything but sorrow. _

_He was nearly gone now, but Kai still had most of himself left. Max closed his eyes, turning his tear streaked face away from his quickly vanishing friends. Sobs shook his body, another whimper escaping. Arms wrapped around his body, holding him close yet again. Max didn't dare open his eyes, just holding back with just as much force than the last time. _

"_Max." The snivel from the blond was enough to show Kai that he wasn't going to get a response. "Max, you need to open your eyes." _

"_No, Kai, I don't want to see you go." The usually cold boy froze upon hearing these words, staring at the blond in thought before shaking him gently. _

"_Open your eyes already and pull yourself together. Max!" _

_Kai's P.O.V._

I held the panicking blond close to me as I gently shook him awake, calling his name as he grabbed me tightly and whimpered mine.

"Max, you need to open your eyes!" Max's eyes slowly opened after my command, soon becoming frantic as he fought against my hold. "Relax-"

"No, you can't leave!" I held him tighter, my eyes narrowing as I tried to decipher what he was talking about.

"Calm down, Max. _Maxie_!" He responded to his pet-name immediately, his eyes returning to normal size as his arms wrapped around me tightly. Trembling, he murmured my name, his voice muffled by my shirt as he looked up at me, the tears staining his cheeks clearly visible to me now. "It's alright." I slowly rocked him back and forth, his breathing finally evening out. "Go take a shower, Max, we need to be out of here before lunch.

He quietly nodded, standing up shakily before heading toward the shower. When the door closed behind him, I wasted no time in fixing his bed, and picking the pillow and blanket up from the floor.

No longer than ten minutes had passed before I heard Max's feet padding against the floor, the sound of water hitting the floor ringing in my ears. I turned around, expecting to see Max fully clothed and ready to leave, only to find him standing there with a towel around his waist as he grinned somewhat sheepishly.

"My clothes are still in the other room." I sighed, reaching over to the nightstand again, ready to another pair of my clothes out when the door opened. As I moved to turn, my eyes landed on Max, taking notice to the way he tensed, his eyes bulging.

"I'm sorry to barge in, but have you seen," there was a silent pause before they continued. "Max, is that you?"

_This chapter was supposed to be up a month ago, but since it's the fourth of July I figured that I would get myself in gear and finish the last two paragraphs. This chapter was remarkably difficult to write, so I wouldn't be mad if you guys say this is complete garbage. I'm suffering from a tricky case of writer's block, so don't expect a chapter to come quickly. (not that they usually do anyway) HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY EVERYONE!_


	12. Chapter 11 Part 1

_Finally, here's the chapter that will answer the cliffhanger, but be aware of the all of the things that will happen in this chapter. Unexpected people show up and a rivalry is declared in this two part chapter. But before I begin I would like to thank Stariceling! Enjoy!_

_Kai's P.O.V._

The atmosphere in the room seemed to shift as I watched Max struggle to form his words. His eyes remained wide, and he finally managed to croak out a word that put the woman at the door gaping at us into action.

"_Mom_?" A mass of blond hair brushed passed me, and only when I heard Max choking for air and laughing did I realize that the woman known as his 'Mom' had passed me. By now a smile had formed on his freckled face, and it left me wondering how he could smile like that after experiencing what seemed to be a terrible nightmare only minutes before.

"How are you doing, Maxie?" Max let another chuckle pass his lips when he opened his mouth to answer, and to be completely honest I found myself somewhat interested in how the blond was doing as well.

"Well would you look at that, Max is shacking up with his teammate." I easily noticed the way Max's shoulders tensed and his reluctance to drag his eyes to the doorway.

"_You._" The hands at his side had clenched, and I took note to the way he stiffened.

"And what do you know, he chose the team captain. At least now I know why he was so _eager_ to get back to his team. Or should I just say his playmate?"

"Michael." Within the simple word I could sense the hostility in the blonde's voice.

"Relax, Maxie, he's just being his old arrogant self. You know he's just teasing." I finally cast a glance toward the boy standing by the door, my eyes quickly narrowing at the smirk that played across his features.

"Yeah, _Maxie_, you know I'm just teasing." There was something else behind his words, something more than just arrogance and simple mockery. It was almost like he was trying to coax a reaction out of Max, and from the way the blond was acting he was pressing the right buttons. Max's narrowed eyes finally strayed from him and onto the wall, and if I guessed right, he was trying to erase the other American boy's presence in his mind.

It took him three easy strides to reach Max and snicker. "I'll be damned; you actually have some muscle hidden under those clothes of yours." An almost inaudible scoff came out of Max as he shook his head, still refusing to look up at the arrogant teen in front of him. Instead he chose to divert his gaze onto his mother, and allowed the corners of his lips to pull into a small smile.

"I'll be back; I need some clothes from my room." I watched as Michael's hand made a small trek upward as reached Max's hair and carefully twirled a lock on his finger. Max's head jerked away from the contact, a snarl ripping its way out of the back of his throat. But I was slightly surprised by the way his mother had brushed it off as nothing, a cheery smile still on her face.

"Yeah, you should really go do that. I wouldn't want you catching a cold." Max responded by hastily leaving the room, slamming the door shut behind him as he did so. The two blonde's in the room shifted their attention to me, staring expectantly. I quickly took in Michael's appearance, from the USA hat that he wore to the way he watched me with an attentive eye. He took a cautious step forward, his eyes sweeping over me.

"So you're Kai, huh." The cockiness in his voice changed the simple question into a proud statement. "I hope you know Max wouldn't stop gushing about you during the tournaments." His blue eyes narrowed as his jaw clenched. "You remember don't you? That time when Max used to be on _our_ team." I had refrain myself from scoffing and shaking my head. That's what the whole thing with Max was about. The way his words held a deeper intention, a double meaning to them, it was all because of that.

I crossed my arms and looked away; this boy was running on nothing but spite right now.

"Hn." Judy's mouth tugged into a smile as she watched the door.

"Max sure is taking his time." I ignored the way the boy in front of me glared as I turned around.

"I'll go help him." The hallway was deserted when I closed the door behind me and began making my way to Max's room. My hand had almost grasped the handle when Max's muffled voice filled the silent hall.

"What are you doing here?" There was no response, but Max continued to talk. "No, actually, what happened to you? I thought you left already."An all too familiar chuckle echoed in my ears before I grit my teeth, forcing myself not to kick the door in.

"You must think lowly of me if you think I'd up and leave without saying goodbye to the one person in Russia who actually made staying here worthwhile." I had to stop myself from growling when Max laughed, I could practically feel him smiling sheepishly while a blush spilled across his skin.

"Amare, it's not that I think that way about you or anything, I- I guess I just assumed…" I could hear Amare's boots tapping against the floor, but whether he was moving closer to or farther away from Max, I couldn't tell.

"You thought I was going to leave without any warning?" When Max didn't answer, I could only assume his facial expression was answering the question for him. Amare's laugh reverberated in the corridor. "Don't worry, Maxie. I'm not going anywhere without saying goodbye first." There was momentary silence again, letting me hear the way Max cleared his throat nervously. "So, Maxie, how've you been doing?"

He stuttered over his words, contemplating what to say as, I could only guess, Amare waited patiently.

"I'm… I think- I've been better." His voice was barely a murmur, something unusual for the hyper Max I was so used to. Idea after idea began hitting me full force, each one trying to decipher the reason behind his words.

"Max," Amare's boots hit the floor again; this time I was sure he was moving closer. "What's the matter, Maxie?"

"I-I don't know really. I just feel so pressured, but I can't pinpoint where the stress is coming from." Frustration laced his words, and I could imagine him tugging on his hair in annoyance. Amare let our and amused chuckle,

"It's seems like you need to talk it out. And, Max," he snorted in laughter before continuing. "Stop pulling your hair, you'll just tangle it." A dejected sigh slipped form Max's lips, but every time I tried I couldn't picture his face. I couldn't begin to piece together what Max's face looked like without his signature smile and the flash of excitement that would light his eyes, because Max wasn't Max without it. He wasn't _my_ Max without it.

I slowly let my body sag against the wall behind me, the voices inside the room becoming gentle hums as I moved further away from the door. My thoughts had kicked into overdrive, leaving any and all things that had nothing to with Max behind. The fact that the subconscious part of my mind had labeled him under something belonging to me had untimely burned anything remotely logical, and residing in my clouded thoughts, to a pile of ash.

I tried thinking back to the exact moment I had selfishly claimed my teammate as a possession of mine; of course, though, it was a problem within itself considering I had actually need to form coherent thoughts. It took me another five minutes to be able to officially call my fragmented thoughts actual _thoughts_.

"What about Kai?" It was like my foot had slammed down on the brakes while doing one hundred miles per hour, and even though it was metaphorical I still felt as if I was suffering from whiplash.

"K-Kai? What do you mean?" Confusion ran thick through his words and my imagination went wild with the opportunity to try and piece together another one of Max's expressions. The picture that was provided didn't help ease up the fog in my mind; his head tilted as he studied Amare curiously. I can now officially declare that I've crashed into the wall and suffered from full impact.

"Well, how's he been treating you?" If there was one thing that was clear to me it was that Amare was fishing for something. Max's reply came out slowly, picking his words with proper caution. '

"Kai's been Kai. Maybe a little frustrated lately, but nothing too bad."

"Frustrated?" Amare had already laid down the trap, and Max was doing nothing short of unintentionally falling right into it.

"Well, yeah. He seems to have a lot on his mind. Although, I don't think I'm helping too much with that." I almost scoffed; Max couldn't have been more right about something in his life. I assumed Amare was gazing questioningly at him when he decided to continue. "I mean, I'm sort of acting like a burden right now." For a moment everything stilled. There was no shifting, no shallow breaths, no anything really, and to anyone else the room might have seemed vacant.

"Did he say something like that to you?" The tone Amare had used was unfamiliar to me, but the way the words were boarding on the edge of irritated made me alert.

"W-What? No, of course not! Kai wouldn't do that-"

"It's okay Max, I believe you. I just wanted to make sure he doesn't talk to you like that." He paused, "he doesn't talk to you like that, right?" I could hear Max's distinctive laugh, but it did little to control the growl rumbling in the back of my throat.

"No, I promise." Clear relief was audible in the muffled sigh Amare released. I wasn't ready to divulge in the reason behind exactly _why_ his voice was so muffled. The rest of the conversation was seemingly lost on me before Max commented on how he needed to get dressed. The opening door was almost enough to get me thinking rationally again.

"I would say I'm surprised to see you, but I'm honestly not." There was something different about him now. His perfect stance had developed a very noticeable slouch while the forever ignited flame in his eyes had looked as if doused with a fire extinguisher. "I'd stick around but I have something more important to attend to. But Kai," he met my gaze slowly. "You're running out of chances." He was gone before I could begin to comprehend, Max standing in his place and jumping when he realized my presence.

"You're mother was wondering what was taking so long." He gave a small nod before he headed back into the room, mentally preparing himself for whatever awaited him. Upon hearing the door opening, Michael's voice was the first thing to break the silence.

"Well you sure decided to take your sweet time. What, did you two choose to bond some more or something?" The scoff from Max was somewhat foreign, though still from him.

"You're so funny, Michael." My still irrational brain made the point to comment on how the way he said it didn't seem too amused. I looked back toward Judy, noticing the way the sides of her lips pulled upward as she looked between Max and me.

"So, who's ready to meet the rest of the team?"

_Alright, so that's it for now. I hope to have Part 2 up soon-ish. I thought I would have it up a few days ago but I had to do this Flash Mob with my school yesterday, and before that I was just being terribly lazy. So, anyway, once again this chapter is dedicated to Stariceling because the review that was sent really got me motivated. Stariceling is probably the only reason this chapter was actually typed up in the first place. Leave a review if you liked it!_


	13. Chapter 11 Part 2

I didn't know if she was ignoring the problems unfolding around her or if she was honestly ignorant to everything that was happening, but even in a different situation it wasn't my place to decide. Whether she chose to address the way Michael's attitude spiked whenever Max was in the room, or how every sentence out of his mouth seemed a little more bitter than the next was simply up to her.

Despite my several attempts at reminding everyone of our scheduled departure, no one stood still long enough to actually register anything other than the greetings of the Allstarz. Everything was grating my nerves. The way they all talked at once, to how everyone's voice became louder as they spoke over each other. I was sure the room had long since reached its maximum capacity. Even with everyone so close together and my head throbbing, my eyes never stopped trying to seek out Max.

"I'm not sharing a room with Michael. Last time I did that I nearly smothered him with my pillow." His laugh was all I needed to hear to finally locate him.

"Oh please, he was so annoying that slamming my pillow into his face became a pre-sleep ritual." The hand that rested on Max's shoulder in congratulatory for the amusing jab didn't go unnoticed.

Michael scowled, but any other words that were tossed around weren't heard. Rick had yet to remove the hand he had resting on Max's shoulder and he seemed perfectly content with letting it stay there. The movement itself was casual, but whether it be casual or not, it still clawed at me until it felt like an itch. When Rick moved his head in my direction we only really looked at each other for three seconds, but three seconds was enough to convey what we were both thinking. He wasn't moving his hand, and I wouldn't relax until he did.

I knew what this would look like to anyone if they saw us, but Rick's hand was only getting more comfortable as the time ticked by.

"Kai." If the hiss in my name didn't draw my attention, the elbow to my gut did. I pulled back my lip in a snarl when I turned. Tyson was staring with a mirrored look of annoyance. "I know you hate being around people you don't trust, but could you maybe stop looking at Rick like he's just personally offended you?"

Tyson wasn't an idiot. He was impulsive and reckless, but he wasn't stupid. He had obviously seen what happened, but just knowing Tyson knew wasn't enough to make me care.

When I looked back over, Max was curiously observing the interaction between the two of us and slowly peeling Rick's hand off. I might have flashed a prideful smirk at Rick. He might have scoffed at me.

"Kai," Max was leaning closer now. "Is something wrong?"

Because of course, if Tyson was smart enough to notice, so was Max. And that was what bothered me; that anyone watching could easily see what was happening while I was still struggling to comprehend anything beyond the irrational anger. I needed to think, but Max was skidding his fingers across my shoulders and my thoughts were all too happy with fading into absolute nothingness.

It was easier for me to step away than to actually remove his hand, but I would only question why when I was alone.

"Kai?" It was a last-ditch attempt at acting more like myself again that I contemplated ignoring Max. It took me two seconds after that to realize that it would be impossible.

"Just be out of here before noon."

I hear the door shut before I realize I'm already out of the room and away from all distractions- away from Max. With him gone it should have been easier to think, but it wasn't. I still couldn't concentrate and the feelings that were supposed to pass showed no signs of leaving any time soon.

It was Max, that I was sure of. With his smile, and the forever excited look on his face. Everything about him was tantalizing- distracting. I could feel it; the heat in the pit of my stomach. It was the strongest feeling I'd had in a while, and it distressed me to think that it was caused by Max. I wasn't naive. I knew from experience that with his positive attitude and looks, Max was thought to be attractive. And that much was true, if the amount of attention the blonde received was anything to go by, which it obviously was.

It vaguely occurred to me that out of the last ten minutes the only thing I sorted out was that at some point in time a part of me found Max appealing. Accepting it wasn't enough though, because it was hard. It was hard knowing that Max was no longer just Max in my eyes, and it was hard knowing that I had let it happen. He had somehow managed to sneak in and become something that I cared for. Sure, Max was a teammate and was unknowingly being pursued by Amare, but my possessiveness went far passed that of a concerned teammate. It didn't help that certain parts of the blonde had become slightly more noticeable either.

Max's smile had adapted a more puppy-like appearance, but all that did was add to his boyish charm. And it was then that I realized why most of my thoughts included him; because Max wasn't the same brat that I might have seen him as a few months ago.

And for the first time since this morning, the fog clouding every thought I had finally subsided and allowed me a moment to think. It was strange, the feeling I got when every missing piece clicked into place. Max wasn't the same brat that I might have seen him as a few months ago, but he wasn't actually any different. He still had the same smile, still had the same hair, the same sense of humor, and the same eyes. Because Max hadn't changed, I had. It was me that changed, and whatever part of me that did found Max more than a little attractive. But that wasn't what bothered me; it was that even after knowing it, some fraction of my mind didn't seem to care and was only concerned with fulfilling the sudden urge to touch, just be around Max. _That_ was what I saw as problematic.

_This chapter is SUPER LATE, and for that I apologize. I don't know what I have, but I'm afraid that calling it writer's block is too much of an understatement. I honestly don't know what to say about this chapter; mainly because I'm not 100% sure it's even any good. I would say the next chapter will be up soon, but whenever I say that I end up looking like a liar, so… I hope anyone that has actually continued reading this odd little note enjoyed the update. If you liked it R&R, because I think after this disaster that might be the only thing that'll help pick up my pride. _


	14. Chapter 12

The conversation going on around Tyson and Rick wasn't so loud that it was distracting, but it gave Max something to listen to besides the constant wave of thoughts that just wouldn't seem to stay away. Kai still hadn't managed to make his way back, and it was becoming increasingly difficult for Max to decide if it had to do with him still cooling down or the way the Allstarz had somehow succeeded in making his territory their own. Just the thought alone was enough to draw him away from everyone and into his own mind.

Even with confusion stalling his ability to so much as think, Max's muddled mind had managed to recreate a near perfect replica of what had taken place only ten minutes before. The images replaying over and over again didn't do anything to help Max decipher any more about the confusing incident, other than the fact that he had done something to set Kai off. It wouldn't have been the first time Max had accidentally done something to annoy his temperamental team captain.

Knowing that it was his actions that lead Kai to wander off on his own didn't make figuring out what it was that he had done wrong any easier. Max knew that nothing during that moment should have been enough to make Kai snap, but it was impossible for him to know what Kai was thinking. It didn't make Max feel any better when even Tyson seemed to know something he had yet to work out.

"Max, don't you still need to pack?" Whether he noticed Max's growing frustration or not, Max was almost positive that he wasn't imagining the pointed look Rei was giving him.

"Um, yeah." The hand on his back was barely noticeable, but nonetheless it did its job of herding him out of the room. He wasn't entirely sure if packing was all Rei had in mind, but whether it was or wasn't, Max doubted he would be able to concentrate hard enough to figure it out anyway.

The door was closed before Max even had a chance to think about turning around and arguing; not that he would have. As stubborn as he was, he was smart enough to know when someone was trying to help him. Whether that help came in the form of getting him out of the room in hope of clearing his mind or simply making him pack to prevent being late, Max figured the answer would come to him later.

_**.:A Trip to Russia:.**_

Whether it was the Allstarz or the newly recognized feelings Kai held for Max, the irritation never went away. It shouldn't have been as hard as it was to control it, but the mere thought of Max being with Rick had only made it worse. Max wasn't his, that was obvious, but he wasn't Rick's either and if Kai had to be the one to show him that, he wouldn't complain.

Max was another, separate problem altogether. Dealing with him should have been the easiest part, but that didn't stop the heavy feeling Kai got every time he so much as attempted to think of him. He pushed that to the back of his mind for now, because he wouldn't be telling Max about his feelings until he knew exactly what they were, even if he did have his own suspicions. Because suspicions or not, at the moment it wasn't anyone's business but Kai's.

"Maxie, come on. We need you back." It was the first thing Kai heard when he finally made his way back to their rooms. His ear didn't need to be pressed to the door to be able to hear Rick talking, and he started to wonder when eavesdropping on Max had become a thing. He was already too distracted by listening in silence to come to the conclusion that he didn't care.

"I can't just go back with you guys." He ignored the way Max took a moments pause before answering. Max was loyal, no doubt, but he'd been an Allstar once too.

"Is it because of Kai?" Rick finally asked, so gently that it made Kai want to walk in and demand he tell him what it was supposed to mean.

"What?" Max sounded about as surprised as Kai felt.

"If he's making you stay or you feel like you need to for some reason, we'll work something out."

Kai couldn't begin categorizing the raw emotions that seemed to spur to life from seemingly nowhere inside of him at the implications of him forcing Max to do anything. The ringing in his ears almost reminded Kai of Dranzer's roar, and as if his bitbeast was there with him, he could feel the blazing heat itching at his skin. Kai wouldn't be selfish enough to say that Max couldn't leave because he belonged to him, but if Rick thought he could poach Max off his team without a fight, then he was being delusional.

Kai didn't find the silence nearly as nerve-wracking as the prospect of losing Max to the Allstarz was, but the idea of that alone was enough for him to lock the thought away to deal with when his mind wasn't such a muddled mess. The silence wasn't so deafening that Kai couldn't hear over it, but it might as well have been. Mumbles were all that Kai could really hear, and even then he could only make out half-words and muffled sounds. He briefly found himself wondering what they were talking about.

In normal circumstances, he wouldn't care. In fact, he really shouldn't - shouldn't be concerning himself with problems that don't concern him. But the fact of the matter was that he did just that, made Max's problems his own, so therefore he did care. Kai cared about whether or not Max would leave, and he cared about Max.

"I want to have a battle." Kai didn't know why he hadn't noticed that he was already standing in the room, but he blamed it on Max. Even without being directly next to Kai, he still served as a distraction.

"What?" Rick's reaction was just as Kai had expected it to be.

"You think your team is good enough to have Max, then prove it." The power that every member of the Allstarz had was something Kai knew all too well, but he had no intention of backing down- of losing Max. "Whoever loses leaves Max alone."

"Fine, but when I win, I'm taking Max back."

_Alright, so for anyone who is confused, I reposted this chapter because I didn't really like the other one. I changed it a lot, but some things are still the same. I hope you liked and if you did tell me. If there was something you didn't get or just didn't like, you can tell me that too. Happy Veterans Day!_


	15. Chapter 13

The headache that Kai was working to push down only seemed to get worse by the time Dranzer was launched and spinning patiently in the dish. The anticipation flowing through Dranzer buzzed underneath his skin until it was nearly impossible to ignore. Kai hadn't had the chance to participate in a proper match since his battle with Amare, but with a new competition standing just a few feet across from him, even that seemed eons away. His body tensed almost out of reflex at the sight of Dranzer weaving just barely out of the way to avoid Rick's attack. Kai couldn't afford to lose his head or the match; not with what was at stake.

"Dranzer!" Kai felt more than heard the low growl that rumbled out of his phoenix in response to his call. Dranzer's heat was familiar against his face and Kai could immediately feel some of his anxiety burning away. The warmth in the air made it nearly impossible to breathe and it lent Kai just the distraction he was craving. It didn't allow him time to stay stuck on the possibility of losing Max, even when his mind obviously wanted to.

The wave of heat that wafted through the arena was almost enough to knock both Kai and Rick off their feet. Seeing Dranzer's wings stretch out of the talisman surprised Kai as much as it did Rick. Whether he had willed it to happen or his bitbeast was simply responding to the agitation coursing through his body, Kai wasn't willing to pull his concentration away from the match to find out. The layer of rusted metal on the dish warned Kai off from letting Dranzer spin near the center for any longer than was strictly necessary, though Rick obviously wasn't above using it to his advantage. It only took a few well-planned hits to drive back Dranzer until the chips along the surface threatened to flip his blade over.

This time Kai was sure Dranzer was reacting to his emotions. The giant pair of wings that struck out and slashed at Rick's bison-like bitbeast gave Kai the chance to maneuver Dranzer out of Rick's immediate line of attack and to the undamaged side of the dish. Despite every instinct in his body telling him not to, Kai found himself turning away from the match completely in an attempt to locate Max. For the amount of time Kai spent worrying about Max, the younger boy's presence seemed to fade into the background once the battle began. Kai vaguely felt guilt beginning to gnaw at him for forgetting his younger teammate so easily, but it was just as easy to push the feeling down once he actually saw him.

The worry seemingly swimming through his bright blue eyes was most evident. Seeing it would have brought the guilt back to the surface if not for the well-timed growl that echoed off the walls of the room. It was enough to draw his attention back to the battle, but Kai was in no way under the impression that it was enough to draw his focus away as well. Max's mere presence was a constant, unwelcome distraction that seemed to be demanding Kai's attention the longer he stayed in Kai's proximity.

Dranzer's form cast a shadow that proved his height to be well above that of Rick's bitbeast. Rick's shout of, "Now Rock Bison!" rang in Kai's ears until even that was drowned out by the sound of Dranzer's angry roar. Dranzer's presence acted as a steady anchor in the back of Kai's mind, and as if reading it, his phoenix barely needed any guidance from him to know what to do.

Kai's P.O.V:

It vaguely occurred to me that somewhere along the course of the match, I had begun to steadily lose control. Wrapping my head around the idea that I had somehow let what I had worked so hard to maintain get away from me so easily took longer than I would have liked. It wasn't that I was stuck on how it had happened, more like who was to blame. My mind supplied Max's name all too quickly and I knew better than to listen to it. Max might have been a leading factor, but the only one who was truly at fault was me. He wouldn't have gotten close enough to cause a problem if my grasp on my control wasn't already slipping.

"Kai!" His voice alone had me fighting to keep my focus trained on the battle and not immediately toward him. "Stop!" Dranzer, who had been ready to swipe one of his large wings at Rock Bison froze at the call. "You can't do that." Max was at my side before I even realized that he had walked closer. "You can't decide who I stay with. It's not fair." It was impossible to ignore the heat rolling off of his body in waves, though I was't entirely sure that I wanted to. Standing so close, Max almost felt as familiar as Dranzer. "Kai, please."

The silence was even more unbearable than having Max stare up at me in anticipation for an answer that I hadn't come up with yet. I didn't know what he was expecting from me. Stopping the battle and giving up wasn't an option that was even worth contemplating, though it did seem like the more logical solution. Max frowned, but even if he was waiting for me to say something back I wouldn't know how. Dranzer's heat was no longer comforting, but a thick vail that blanketed the entire room and made it impossible to breathe. Whether I agreed with what Max wanted or not, it was still his say that would make it final.

"Fine." Max carefully backed away, and I immediately fought the urge to follow. I turned just enough to feel his body heat instead, ignoring whatever implications that could have followed the action. There was barely enough time to catch Dranzer when he sped out of the dish and into my palm. The heat pressing into my skin from the blade kept me grounded and aware of the fact that Max and I weren't the only ones there. I didn't bother looking at him when I finally opened my mouth.

"Max will choose what he's doing, until then we pretend nothing's happened." There was no use waiting to see what Rick's answer would be, and I found myself pushing away from Max and closer to the exit.

"Kai-"

"Stay here Max. I'll handle how you'll get back to the center later." The urge to look back at least one more time before I left was almost as strong as the one to please Max. I ignored it in favor of pushing open the door instead. The door couldn't have been more than an inch away from closing when I heard the gentle, unmistakable sound of Max's voice carrying through the emptiness of the hallway.

"Thank you." The image of Max standing there, watching me walk away and looking just as vulnerable as anyone would in a situation like this slivered through my mind, and suddenly the thought of me wanting to see Max's face one last time 'just in case' seemed ridiculous. Whether Max chose the Allstarz or us, the possibility of losing Max completely was virtually impossible. Even if he ended up on the other side of the world we would still be friends. Maybe even more.


End file.
